Pakistan’s jailed former prime minister Imran Khan on Wednesday claimed that army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir’s policies are “disastrous” for the country and accused him of deliberately “igniting tensions” with Afghanistan.
Pakistan’s former prime minister Imran Khan on Wednesday criticised army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir, calling his policies “disastrous” for the country and accusing him of intentionally “escalating tensions” with Afghanistan.
The 73-year-old ex-cricketer and politician shared the comments on social media a day after his sister, Dr Uzma Khan, was allowed to visit him at Rawalpindi’s Adiala Jail, her first visit in over a month following “special permission” from Shehbaz Sharif’s government.
In an Urdu post on X, Khan said, “Asim Munir’s policies are disastrous for Pakistan. His approach has caused terrorism to spiral out of control, which saddens me deeply.” He added that the army chief “has no concern for Pakistan’s national interests” and is acting primarily to appease Western powers. Khan further claimed that Munir deliberately heightened tensions with Afghanistan to present himself internationally as a so-called “mujahid” (Islamic fighter).
The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf founder also expressed opposition to drone strikes and military operations against Pakistani citizens, warning that such actions would only exacerbate terrorism within the country.
”Munir first threatened Afghans, then expelled refugees from Pakistan and carried out drone strikes whose consequences we now face in the form of rising terrorism,” Khan claimed.
Calling Munir a “mentally unstable man”, Khan alleged his “moral bankruptcy has led to the complete collapse of the Constitution and rule of law in Pakistan”.
Khan claimed that on Munir’s orders, he and his wife have been “imprisoned in fabricated cases and subjected to the worst form of psychological torture”.
“I have been kept in complete solitary confinement, locked inside a cell with no contact with a single human being for four weeks. I was kept entirely cut off from the outside world, and even the basic necessities guaranteed under the jail manual have been taken away from us,” he said.
Khan said despite clear directions of the high court, his meetings with political colleagues were first banned, and now even access to his lawyers and family has been stopped.
”Pick up any human rights charter, psychological torture is considered ’torture’ and is deemed even more severe than physical torture. My sister Noreen Niazi was dragged on the road simply for demanding her legitimate right to meet me,” he said.
Praising Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi, Khan said in this ”environment of repression”, he has chosen “resistance over compromise”.
”I ask him to continue to play on the front foot. There is no law or Constitution in this country. The law is enforced only against PTI as everyone else is exempt. Those threatening Governor’s rule in KP should impose it today rather than tomorrow and then watch what happens to them,” Khan wrote.
An undeclared ban was placed on meeting Khan, who has been in prison since August 2023 in multiple cases, which ignited speculations about his health.
Uzma, after the meeting, said his health was ”perfectly fine” but he was being subjected to ”mental torture in solitary confinement”.
“Praise be to Allah! His health is perfectly fine. However, he was very angry and said that they are subjecting him to mental torture,” she said.
With inputs from agencies
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