LAHORE: Imran Khan accused Rana Sanaullah Khan of attempting a “cover-up” after the interior minister claimed intelligence agencies intercepted a plan by the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) to “stage a raid and rape at a known party leader’s house” to gain sympathy as the military seeks to destroy former prime minister’s support ahead of elections.
Khan’s response came after the minister called a news conference at midnight to allege that agencies under him had intercepted a telephone conversation discussing the “sinister plan” to “fabricate human rights violations and atrocities” in the government of Shehbaz Sharif.
He, however, did not present any evidence to support his claim.
Separately, in a tweet, he asserted that the ultimate objective behind this scheme was to “falsely implicate” law enforcement agencies in the crime and subsequently raise the issue at an international level.
But a suspicious former prime minister believed Sanaullah was “so obviously trying to cover up and pre-empt the horror stories about to break in the media”.
“If there were any doubts about women being mistreated in jails, this press conference from this certified criminal should remove all such doubts,” Khan tweeted.
If there were any doubts about women being mistreated in jails, this press conference from this certified criminal should remove all such doubts.
He is so obviously trying to cover up and preempt the horror stories about to break in the media.
Women have never been so… pic.twitter.com/ig06rvsdsl
— Imran Khan (@ImranKhanPTI) May 28, 2023
He also observed that “women have never been so mistreated and harassed by the state as they have been by this fascist [government]” for “exercising their right to protest peacefully.”
Khan’s brief arrest earlier this month sparked days of street protests freighted with anger at the army perceived to have orchestrated his downfall in April last year. Islamabad labelled the violence “anti-state”, justifying huge roundups and the revival of notorious military courts to try protestors, including women, who targeted government buildings.
Journalists, lawyers, and activists in the party report campaigns of intimidation and influence which they blame on the establishment.
The media has previously reported instances of security personnel’s inappropriate behaviour towards women affiliated with the opposition party. One such incident involved a police raid on the house of former minister Usman Dar, where his mother was allegedly manhandled and harassed by the police.
Additionally, women protesters have been beaten and dragged by the police on multiple occasions.
Meanwhile, Islamabad police urged officials to ensure that surveillance cameras in stations, offices, and prisons were working properly to avoid “plans to target officials.”
اطلاعات کے مطابق محکموں کو بدنام کرنے کی منظم مہم کا آغاز کیا گیا ہے۔
ہر عہدے کے افسران کو نشانہ بنایا جارہا ہے تاکہ اداروں کی بدنامی کی جاسکے۔
تمام خواتین قابل احترام ہیں
لیکن کچھ کو اس مہم میں استعمال کیا جا سکتا ہےایسے مذموم ہتھکنڈے غیر ملکی انٹیلیجنس ادارے ماضی میں…
— Islamabad Police (@ICT_Police) May 28, 2023
The police claimed, without evidence, that a “planned campaign to defame institutions” had been initiated under which officials, regardless of their post, would be targeted.
“While all women are respectable, some can be used in this campaign,” it said, calling on officials to “keep matters transparent to avoid such tactics.”
