Pakistan’s ousted Prime Minister Imran Khan has accused the country’s military of barring his party from winning the next election.
The report in Bloomberg said Khan cited the government and military's push to arrest his supporters as evidence it's looking to "crush" his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf before a vote that must be held by mid-October.
It also mentioned Pakistan authorities have said they want to hold accountable anyone who attacked military buildings following his brief time in detention in May.
The former prime minister Khan, who is now far ahead in popularity surveys despite losing power in a parliamentary confidence vote last year, denied his supporters and the PTI party were behind the attacks, as per the report.
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Imran Khan accused the government of using the incident as a pretext to carry out an "unprecedented crackdown”, it mentioned.
"It's all dependent on the establishment feeling that PTI will no longer be able to win the elections. Once they are sure of that, then they'll announce elections," it stated.
“Pakistan's military is the nation's most powerful institution, holding an outsized role in foreign and security policies while ruling directly for much of the country's modern history. Most prime ministers have depended on the institution's support to stay in power, including Khan, but his ties worsened after he attempted to influence army appointments,” it mentioned.
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“In recent months, Khan has stepped up his anti-army rhetoric, breaking a long-established taboo preventing politicians from criticizing the army. He also accused the military of being part of a plan to remove him from power and identified a senior officer of plotting to assassinate him, allegations the generals have persistently denied,” it added.
Imran Khan as per the report also said it would be hard for any party to win a strong mandate, leading to a fractured government to grapple with a dire financial situation that has forced his successor, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, to seek help from the International Monetary Fund and bilateral donors.
