LAHORE: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan has alleged that the party leaders and his supporters in jail were being tortured for not abandoning the party; they (the coalition government) were also pursuing the party ticket-holders to force them to abandon the PTI.

While addressing his supporters through a video link here on Tuesday, he said that PTI leaders Ejaz Chaudhry and Mian Mehmood ur Rasheed were tortured; right now, our leadership was either in jail or hiding. “Now, they (the government) were targeting the ticket-holders to somehow separate them from the PTI and many have left the party,” he claimed.

He averred that the kind of pressure being exerted on his party at present was never seen in the past; 10,000 people, including the PTI workers and supporters, were thrown in jail, and many of them were tortured, adding that homes of those in hiding were being attacked and demolished.

“They were being punished for expressing their support for the PTI and refusing to abandon the party,” he added.

He was specifically critical of the “maltreatment” of female supporters in jails, saying the government was scared of releasing them, as they knew they were innocent and the truth would come out after their release.

“They know that hardly 100 to 150 people were involved in the arson attack while the rest were staging peaceful protests,” he added.

Khan also claimed that a new drama of establishing a new political party was being staged and simultaneously, many of those deserting the PTI were now lobbying for more deserters.

“They were being allured into the new party; an effort was being made to create a ‘king’s party’ by gathering individuals from various political backgrounds. Those orchestrating the current chaos know that none of the parties within the ruling coalition can win in the elections and establish a capable government,” he added.

Meanwhile, in his tweet, the former premier said that the current fascist government was leaving no stone unturned to oppress the opposition, adding that even the regimes of martial law were not as oppressive.

“With complete disregard for the rule of law, this fascist government, far worse than General Musharraf’s martial law, has a one-point agenda to crush the PTI,” he said.

On the economy, he said that Pakistan’s economy was going into a free fall; the dollar was at Rs 315 in the open market while for non-CNIC holders the rate was between Rs 320 and Rs 325.

“There was a difference of 30 rupees per dollar between the official and open market rates, which simply means hoarding of dollars in the economy, and it has affected the confidence of investors,” he said.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2023