• A party leader says all posts on social media go through ex-PM
• New post alleges ECP chief, CJP, IHC chief justice part of ‘London Plan’

ISLAMABAD: The controversial tweets that were posted on Imran Khan’s ‘X’ (formerly Twitter) account over the last couple of days created turmoil on Saturday, with the ruling and opposition parties exchanging barbs on their content.

The PTI founder remains in jail for over a year and a leader of his party told Dawn on condition of anonymity that anything posted on the ‘X’ account was with the approval of the PTI founder. But, he added, Imran Khan could better respond to a question about who was using this account.

“It is more likely that someone who is authorised to post on the X account is not living in Pakistan, but nobody knows who has been given access to manage the ‘X’ handle,” the PTI leader said, adding that the account was definitely not hacked.

As Imran Khan joined a probe by the Federal Investigation Agency on Saturday into controversial remarks posted on his ‘X’ account, another contentious statement was shared on his social media handle accusing top functionaries of compromising the rule of law under the so-called ‘London Plan’.

Earlier this week, his ‘message to the nation’ from jail prompted the authorities to register a case against him for sedition, but instead of creating deterrence, two more posts along similar lines were published on Friday and Saturday. All these posts revolve around the Hamoodur Rah­man Commission Report and the role of the establishment in the lead-up to the creation of Bangladesh.

In a similarly worded tweet on Saturday, Imran Khan alleged that Chief Justice of Pakistan Qazi Faez Isa was holding the Supreme Court ‘hostage’ and added that the CJP, Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja, and Islamabad High Court Chief Justice Aamer Farooq were a part of the ‘London Plan’ where all the characters were “dishonest”.

He alleged that CJP Isa was being given an extension because he was giving the government protection from accountability for their role in human rights violations and election rigging.

In reference to the crackdown on the PTI that recently resulted in the ‘breach’ of parliament’s sanctity, the PTI leader claimed, “The country is currently experiencing Yahya Khan’s (Martial Law Dictator) rule all over again. (General) Yahya Khan conducted an operation against the country’s largest political party. Yahya Khan Part Two is doing the same and destroying the country’s institutions.”

The tweets also questioned the role of military operations in the eradication of militancy from the country, saying military operations had “failed to establish peace, because the policy is, in itself, flawed and impossible to implement”.

Besides, the former premier supported the statement of Khyber Pakh­tunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur wherein he said he would go to Kabul for dialogue.

“I would have definitely allowed the chief minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to negotiate with Afghan­istan had I been the prime minister,” he added.

The PTI founder continues to make headlines through his controversial social media posts published by an ‘authorised’ person.

In June this year, the FIA issued notices to the top PTI leadership for the ‘misuse’ of his account in light of an ‘obnoxious’ post on the 1971 war that resulted in the Fall of Dhaka.

In the National Assem­bly, the controversial tweets caused commotion.

Opposition Leader Omar Ayub did own the tweets. He said he stood by every word uttered by ‘his leader’ in the tweets as Imran Khan talked about Pakistan.

Media talk

In a conversation with reporters after the hearing of £190 million in Adiala Jail, the PTI founder said, “If an FIR has been registered against me, then please read the Hamoodur Rahman Commission rep­ort to the nation.”

His tweets in the recent past have consistently referred to the commission and the 1971 war. He said had the report been followed then at least two martial laws in the country could have been averted.

The former premier also criticised the upcoming constitutional amendments, saying PTI would resist the attempts to extend the tenure of the top judge.

He said democracy was being ‘butchered’ and warned that whatever was happening to the PTI could happen to the incumbent rulers in the future. He added that PTI was gearing up for street protests and the Lahore gathering on Sept 21 would take place at all costs.

“When there is a struggle for freedom, sacrifices have to be made,” he said, adding that the government would be responsible if things blew out of proportion. He also questioned the role of the National Assembly spea­ker in the ‘abduction’ of lawmakers from Parli­ament House.

Published in Dawn, September 15th, 2024