Written by Ishika Yadav | Edited by Swati Bhasin
Former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on Wednesday said that the country “is descending into a Banana Republic” amid the arrest of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Shahbaz Gill on charges of sedition. Khan, who heads the PTI, has also termed Gill’s arrest as a “conspiracy” to target him, and his party colleagues.
On Twitter, Imran Khan shared a 22-second clip of Gill and wrote: “Descending into a banana republic. The civilised world will be shocked at our levels of barbarism. The worst part is an easy target has been chosen to make an example of through torture & without a fair trial.” Khan further accused the ruling PML-N’s Nawaz Sharif, her daughter Maryam, JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman and PPP leader Asif Zardari for targeting the state institutions ‘in the worst way possible’, and still getting away ‘without even a hint of a reprimand’
Shehbaz Gill, a close aide of Imran Khan, was arrested last week in Islamabad for allegedly making controversial remarks against the Pakistan Army on a private TV channel, local media outlet GeoNews reported. He was eventually booked on charges of sedition and inciting members of state institutions against the Pakistan Army. A day before, he was remanded in two-day custody of the Islamabad police.
PTI secretary general Asad Umar called the court-ordered remand ‘a way to inflict more torture.’ “Despite the worst torture, which was done to him (Gill) in Islamabad, he refused to give a false statement against Imran Khan. The phone was taken by the police while detaining him. There is no reason to ask for remand except to inflict more violence,” a loose translation of his tweet read.
Less time to read?
Try Quickreads
-
Mutation behind monkeypox spread? WHO’s reply; Roman numerals in clades’ names
The world saw 7,500 new monkeypox cases last week, a 20 per cent surge compared to the previous week, WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Wednesday, giving the latest updates on the virus that has triggered concern globally. With the latest spike, the global monkeypox tally has passed the 35,000-mark and 12 deaths have so far been reported; the virus has spread to 92 countries and territories.
-
Nepali woman’s quest to learn takes her back to school with son
A Nepali mother of two, Parwati Sunar finds herself attending the same school as her son after returning to an education system she fled at the age of 15, when she eloped with a man seven years her senior. “I think I should not have left my school,” she said, explaining the desire to catch up on the lessons she missed, having had her first child at 16.
-
A man broke into a home in US. He wanted to have bath, say cops
A Minnesota man who allegedly broke into an occupied Wisconsin home last week and locked the 29-year-old Minnesota man in a bathroom, St. Paul never had a chance to come clean. Authorities say the 29-year-old Minnesota man, St. Paul was filling up the tub when Chippewa Falls police who answered the call of a stranger in the home ordered him to come out of the bathroom. The man told police he lived in the home with his girlfriend.
-
Anger as US court says teen not ‘mature’ enough for abortion
An appeals court in Florida has upheld a ruling that a 16-year-old girl is not “sufficiently mature” enough to get an abortion — a decision that sparked the ire of some US lawmakers. Two months after the Supreme Court overturned nationwide access to the termination of a pregnancy, the teenager’s case is fuelling new anger over women’s rights in the United States.
-
CFO of Trump Organization to plead guilty, testify against company
Donald Trump’s chief financial officer is expected to plead guilty to tax violations Thursday in a deal that would require Allen Weisselberg to testify about illicit business practices at the former president’s company, two people familiar with the matter told The Associated Press. The two people were not authorized to speak publicly about the case and did so on condition of anonymity.