“We are standing on the edge of darkness,” former Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan said while talking about the state of democracy in the country. Imran Khan, who has faced a string of cases since being ousted from power last year, was arrested in the graft case in May, leading to violent protests across the country. He was later released on bail. His supporters were blamed for ransacking of military installations which was followed by a countrywide crackdown in which hundreds of supporters and dozens of leaders were detained.
“There is no rule of law and an undeclared martial law in Pakistan currently,” Imran Khan said in an interview with MSNBC. The cricketer-turned politician also talked about the American government, chances of his coming to power, the role of military and freedom of press.
Imran Khan said that Pakistan was at the tail end of the war on terror and the army was wary about any criticism.
“So they were responsible for a few guys who were picked up,” he said.
This comes as the Islamabad High Court declared the Toshakhana case against the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman inadmissible in response to a petition filed by the former premier against the decision of a trial court that had declared the criminal case which was filed by the Election Commission of Pakistan admissible.
Pakistan also issued a presidential ordinance granting extra detention powers to the country’s anti-corruption body which is currently investigating a case involving Imran Khan, Reuters reported. This will give the body- the National Accountability Bureau- ability to issue arrest warrants and detain suspects for 30 days if they did not cooperate with an investigation, Geo News reported.
