By Hamza Ameer: Pakistan’s democracy is hanging by a thread which is the judiciary, former Prime Minister Imran Khan said, as he addressed the nation, a day after he was released on bail following the country’s Supreme Court calling his arrest “illegal”.
“Our democracy is hanging by a thread and that is the judiciary. It is the judiciary that has stopped them. They are the reason why I am sitting here today. It is time for the whole nation to stand with the judiciary,” Khan said, adding, “These people (the ruling government) have made bogus cases against me. I have 145 cases against me.”
Speaking about the massive protests that gripped Pakistan following his arrest on May 9, Khan said, “I am referring to those who came out peacefully. Those who are with me, they have always came out peacefully for the past 27 years. I cannot forget May 25, when these imported handlers pushed the police to assault our people.”
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“I got hit by bullets. Why were there no such riots then? It is because that is not a part of my philosophy. I want the chief justice of the Supreme Court to make a panel and investigate this matter because I don’t want them (the government) to investigate it,” Khan said.
Over 3,500 workers of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) have been arrested so far, the cricketer-turned-politician said. “Till now, over 3,500 of our workers have been picked up and put behind bars. The top leadership has been put behind bars. Our leaders in Peshawar said they have never seen the people who were out protesting and creating unrest. When our leaders tried to stop them, the protesters fought with them.”
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“There were suspicious people provoking our people to attack the cantonment area. The same people in civil dresses were the ones who attempted to assassinate me outside the judicial complex in Islamabad. They were not our people. The way they treated women, it has never been seen before. The way they assaulted women is something that is beyond belief. Today, they are raiding everyone’s houses,” Khan said.
Imran Khan was taken into custody in a dramatic arrest by the armed paramilitary forces from the premises of the Islamabad High Court on May 9. He was granted bail for two weeks by the Islamabad High Court on Friday, a day after Pakistan’s Supreme Court termed the arrest “invalid and unlawful”.
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