Outgoing Pakistan PM denies claims of vendetta against jailed Imran Khan
The Guardian|August 16, 2023
Pakistan's outgoing prime minister, Shehbaz Sharif, has denied pursuing a personal vendetta against Imran Khan, his political rival and immediate predecessor, who was jailed and barred from politics on corruption charges this month.
Shah Meer Baloch
Outgoing Pakistan PM denies claims of vendetta against jailed Imran Khan

Speaking to the Guardian in his last interview before handing over to a caretaker leader, Sharif said that "victimisation is not in [his] dictionary" and he accused Khan of "shabby treatment of opposition leaders and putting them behind bars" when he was in power from 2018 to April last year.

Sharif, who spent seven months in prison after being jailed in 2020, said there was no "question of any crackdown and personal vendetta".

"We were treated shabbily and the jail manual was violated when Khan was PM. We were terribly victimised. But we don't believe in tit for tat... Relevant institutions, courts and rule of law would take its own course in Khan's [legal case],"❞ Sharif said.

On 5 August, Khan was arrested at his home in the eastern city of Lahore by hundreds of police officers after a court found the former international cricketer guilty of "corrupt practices" involving the sale of state gifts. He was sentenced to three years in prison. According to the constitution, that means Khan is automatically banned from politics for five years.

Khan has denied all wrongdoing and his lawyer, Intezar Hussain Panjutha, said the former prime minister would be appealing against the ruling, calling it a case of "political victimisation".

The court's judgment is likely to prevent Khan, the leader and founder of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, standing in forthcoming elections. The polls are scheduled for November, but could be delayed further.

هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة August 16, 2023 من The Guardian.

ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.

هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة August 16, 2023 من The Guardian.

ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.

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