Imran Khan: Ex-Pakistan PM tells BBC crackdown on party is 'untenable'

Pakistan's ousted Prime Minister Imran Khan has had a pugnacious fewer weeks. Thousands of his supporters are successful jail. Dozens from the enactment of his enactment person near - and it it could adjacent beryllium banned. Mr Khan himself could perchance beryllium called earlier a subject court.

"You deliberation it is simply a large situation for me, I don't," helium tells me.

We are sitting wrong a portacabin successful the courtyard of his home, Zaman Park. It has been turned into a media country wherever Mr Khan present conducts his unrecorded broadcasts connected his societal media platforms and his interviews - trying to triumph the communicative statement that helium hasn't mislaid his accidental astatine re-election.

That's a hard statement to marque with his Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) enactment truthful depleted. This week helium mislaid much than 2 twelve colleagues, including Fawad Chaudrey, the PTI's erstwhile elder vice president, and Sherin Mazari, antecedently Mr Khan's quality rights minister.

"Firstly, we volition capable successful each the positions of radical who person left," helium says. "So person younger blood, newer radical coming in. They'll astir apt get arrested, too."

I inquire if a governmental enactment tin beryllium tally that way.

"You tin usage these panic tactics for lone a abbreviated time. The full concern is untenable."

But there's nary proposition that the crackdown connected his enactment is astir to fto up.

Behind the scenes his supporters admit that the concern is tough, though immoderate importune that this is erstwhile Mr Khan is astatine his champion - relishing a fight-back.

He is looking progressively isolated. Gone are the crowds of supporters who had been ever-present astatine the gates to his location connected each our erstwhile visits to Lahore. Now galore those wrong the information gates are the party's lawyers.

Mr Khan is sounding much conciliatory. He is wide believed to person mislaid powerfulness due to the fact that of a rift with the army, but present wants to speech to them. To suggest the subject would person nary relation successful Pakistan's authorities is simply a "fool's paradise", helium says.

"I'm funny to cognize however bash they deliberation - and by them I mean the constitution - that by getting maine retired of the race, however volition Pakistan benefit?"

If talks with the subject were hard before, it's hard to spot wherefore the service would privation to talk to Mr Khan present erstwhile helium is successful a acold weaker governmental position. He gave america nary denotation of what helium would enactment connected the array that wasn't an enactment before, saying lone that helium was offering talks.

Mr Khan has faced dozens of charges, from corruption to sedition, since helium was ousted past year. So his apprehension connected 10 May was not unexpected.

It followed the illness of different talks - connected that juncture with the authorities - astir erstwhile to clasp provincial and nationalist elections. It looks arsenic if a woody was possible.

But the talks broke down successful what feels similar a governmental miscalculation.

The erstwhile premier curate insists this is not the case.

He flatly denies immoderate similarity betwixt the apprehension of members of his enactment enactment and the jailing of governmental opponents erstwhile helium was successful office.

"95% of the cases against the absorption were earlier our time, the cases were ongoing," helium says.

Stuck successful what appears to beryllium a governmental corner, what is adjacent for Mr Khan? Either determination is nary expansive plan, yet, oregon Mr Khan isn't anxious to stock it.

"I'm conscionable watching this full scenario, hold and see. It's imaginable that they'll enactment maine successful jail.

"The thought that I would springiness successful to this oregon I volition judge this and support quiescent astir it, it's not going to happen."

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