Imran Khan of Pakistan openly accuses the military of trying to destroy his party

Summary

• Military to try those suspected of violent protests last month
• Khan says purpose of military courts is to put him in prison
• Terms violent protests a 'false flag operation' to target him
• Says military 'out in the open' trying to crush his party

LAHORE, Pakistan, June 4 (Reuters) - Pakistan's embattled former Prime Minister Imran Khan accused the powerful army and his intelligence agency of openly trying to destroy his political party, saying he had "no doubt" he would be tried in a military court. and put in jail.

Khan has previously hinted at the military's hand in the crackdown on his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, but his comments in an interview at his Lahore home on Saturday night were his most forceful yet.

"It's completely the establishment," the former cricket hero told Reuters, when asked who was behind the crackdown. "Establishment obviously means the military establishment, because now they're really out in the open, I mean, they're not even hidden now, they're just out in the open."

A spokesman for the army, which has run the country directly or indirectly throughout its 75-year history, and has rarely faced the kind of public challenge to its power as it has with Khan, did not respond to a request for comment.

A bitter year-long standoff between Khan, Pakistan's most popular leader according to polls, and the army came to a head when military buildings and property were looted last month, allegedly by his supporters.

Political unrest has heightened uncertainty in the nuclear-armed country of 220 million, which is also beset by financial turmoil. Its $350 billion economy is struggling to avoid default, rein in record inflation and deal with a collapsing currency.

Khan called the violent protests, which broke out after he was briefly arrested, a "false flag operation" aimed at targeting him.

Authorities have begun the process of trying dozens of people, including members of his party, suspected of taking part in the protests in a military court, usually reserved for service members or those categorized as enemies of the state.

"That's the only way they're going to put me in prison," Khan said, adding that the military wanted to prevent him from returning to power in elections scheduled for November.

He said that some 150 criminal cases filed against him were frivolous and would be dismissed in any civil court.

"So their only hope, and since they're determined to get me out of the way, I think they will, their whole charade of military tribunals is to put me in jail," he said.

"I have absolutely no doubt that military courts are for me," said Khan, who is out on bail.

Amnesty International says Pakistan's military courts have previously shown disregard for due process, lack of transparency, coerced confessions and executions after unfair trials.

SPY AGENCY

Khan said the country's most powerful spy agency, the army's Inter Services Intelligence (ISI), was deeply involved in the crackdown.

He said two senior members of his party were called by the agency for a talk. "And when they went there, they just shut them up and said 'you're (not) leaving unless you resign from PTI.'"

Khan said he tried to contact the army for talks to find a way out of the current crisis, but got no response, and he did not know why army chief General Asim Munir was "obsessed" with leaving him. sideways.

Before becoming army chief in November 2022, Munir was the head of the ISI, a position from which he was suddenly ousted in 2019 when Khan was prime minister.

Khan himself was ousted from office in a parliamentary vote last year that he says was orchestrated by Pakistan's top generals. The military deny it.

No official reason was given for Munir's premature removal, but Khan acknowledged in the interview, for the first time, that he wanted him out of office.

"I think maybe he has a grudge because I asked him to step down" as ISI chief, Khan said. "I don't know."

Asked why he had asked Munir to resign, Khan said: "You know, I, as the prime minister, felt that the way the intelligence agency was run... I had my problems with that." He did not elaborate.

Munir was later selected as the country's top general by Khan's successor and political rival, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.

"He shouldn't have a problem with that now because he's the head of the army," Khan said, referring to Munir's removal as head of the ISI. "Then why would he hold that grudge?"

Khan said he was puzzled by the campaign against him.

"(I'm) someone who's been known in this country for 50 years, who's probably won every award in this country and probably the best-known Pakistani, and suddenly I'm treated like some kind of foreigner, like an enemy of the state. "