Imran Khan being pressured to leave Pakistan like Nawaz Sharif and Benazir Bhutto!

New Delhi: Leader of the Opposition in Pakistan's National Assembly and President of the Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party, Mahmud Khan Achakzai, has claimed in a press conference that pressure is being put on jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan to leave the country.

Speaking to the media at the Peshawar High Court, Achakzai said the current ruling coalition – Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) – is trying to repeat the same political formula with former Prime Minister Imran Khan that was adopted in the past with Nawaz Sharif and Benazir Bhutto.

What happened to Nawaz Sharif and Benazir Bhutto?

Achakzai was referring to two major developments in Pakistan's political history.

Nawaz Sharif (2000): Nawaz Sharif, who was imprisoned after the coup by General Pervez Musharraf, was allowed to leave the country for 10 years and go to Saudi Arabia under the mediation of Saudi Arabia and Lebanese leadership.

Benazir Bhutto (1999): After losing the 1997 elections and facing corruption charges, Benazir Bhutto also left the country and spent a long time in Dubai and London.

Achakzai says the government and powerful circles, including the military, are now trying to force PTI founder Imran Khan to sign a similar agreement. However, he clarified that Imran Khan has not yet accepted such a deal.

Petition filed in High Court against 'Governor's rule' in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

Achakzai was accompanied by Tehreek-e-Tahaffuz-Ain-e-Pakistan (TTAP) leaders Sardar Akhtar Mengal and Allama Raja Nasir Abbas during the press conference.

Opposition leaders have filed a writ petition in the Peshawar High Court against the Governor's rule and emergency imposed by the central government in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

The petition seeks to declare the emergency proclamation issued on October 11 as unconstitutional and illegal under Articles 232(1) and 234 of the Constitution.

Opposition leaders allege that the central government has unconstitutionally usurped the powers of the elected provincial government and assembly of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa under the pretext of terrorism.

'Banning visits to prisoners in jail is dictatorial'

Achakzai strongly criticized the restrictions on visits to jailed Imran Khan and other political prisoners, saying that no country in the world prevents prisoners from meeting their lawyers and family members.

He warned that if Parliament was not empowered and the Election Commission's impartiality was not restored, the opposition parties would soon call a multi-party conference and would also keep open the option of mass resignations from the assemblies if necessary.