Jailed former Prime Minister of Pakistan Imran Khan has claimed that he was given a chance to leave the country on exile for three years, but he refused. “When I was in Attock jail, I was given a chance of three years of deportation, but I will live and die in Pakistan,” Khan, 72, said in an interview with media house
Speaking to media persons at Rawalpindi’s Adiala jail, where he is lodged since August 2023, Khan said he has been “indirectly approached” to shift him to his Bani Gala residence in Islamabad. However, he said on X that he declined the offer.
The founder of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) further said that he believes that decisions about Pakistan should be taken within the country. “My stand is clear: first release my detained activists and leaders. Only then will I consider discussing my personal situation,” he said.
Imran Khan said that the violation of individual freedoms, violation of fundamental legal rights and destruction of institutions during this authoritarian era has not only disrupted the social and political system of the country, but also its legal and economic framework.
He said, “The absurd manner in which Khalid Khurshid (former Chief Minister of Gilgit-Baltistan) was sentenced to 34 years in prison shows that there is no longer rule of law in our country and a terrible undeclared dictatorship prevails.”
“Even during the Musharraf era, we criticized military intervention, but never faced this kind of oppression and fascism,” he said.
