ISLAMABAD: In a rare public message on Thursday, Bushra Bibi, the wife of Pakistan’s jailed ex-prime minister Imran Khan, assured state institutions he harbors no plans for revenge upon returning to power, as she rallied support for a protest planned by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) next week.
The PTI is organizing the rally in Islamabad on November 24, demanding Khan’s release, who has been in prison since August last year following his arrest on corruption charges.
The protest also aims to highlight the party’s allegations of electoral rigging in the February 8 general elections. The planned demonstration reflects the deepening political polarization in Pakistan, with Khan’s supporters and other political factions locked in an increasingly bitter political conflict.
Khan’s combative rhetoric against state institutions, including the powerful military— whom he has accused of orchestrating his ouster in an April 2022 no-confidence vote— has further entrenched divisions.
Despite his incarceration, Khan has remained defiant, which many interpret as evidence of his determination to seek retribution against rivals if he regains power. In her video message, however, Bibi dismissed the perceptions, emphasizing Khan’s commitment to forgiveness and unity.
“I want to tell the [state] institutions that it is completely wrong to think that Khan will take revenge on anyone,” she said in the video. “Khan says taking revenge on people after coming into power is akin to inviting God’s displeasure.”
“He has said that the time he has spent in jail has brought him closer to God,” she continued. “He has also said that he has learned that when you come into power, you should open the door to forgiveness, not the door to oppression.”
Bibi’s appeal marked a rare foray into the public eye, underscoring her emerging role as a central figure in the PTI’s efforts to build momentum for Khan’s release. She remained in the same jail with Khan in a case involving the illegal sale of state gifts before her release on bail in October.
Bibi called on party supporters to participate in the November 24 rally, saying there was no plan to change the protest date.
“The date can only be changed on one condition that Khan comes out and himself announces the next course of action to the public,” she said. “Otherwise, under no circumstances can the date of Nov. 24 be changed.”
Khan’s arrest and imprisonment have become a flashpoint for political tensions in Pakistan. The PTI alleges that the cases against Khan are politically motivated, aimed at sidelining the former premier and dismantling his party.
Meanwhile, the coalition government has taken measures to suppress PTI’s rallies, citing concerns over public safety and order, particularly in light of the planned protest in Islamabad.
Bibi asked people to come out and protest in her message, calling it their duty to fighter for the rule of law in the country.
In rare message, Imran Khan’s wife says he won’t seek revenge if back in power
https://arab.news/vecb2
In rare message, Imran Khan’s wife says he won’t seek revenge if back in power
- Bushra Bibi says the protest date will only change from Nov. 24 if Khan shares another public course of action
- Her message marks a rare foray into the public eye, underscoring her emerging role as a central PTI figure
Four militants, three paramilitary personnel killed in Pakistan's restive northwest
- The troops were killed when militants targeted an ambulance transporting them after a quadcopter attack on a paramilitary camp in Karak
- Pakistan is witnessing a surge in militancy in its western regions, which last week prompted Islamabad to conduct airstrikes in Afghanistan
ISLAMABAD: Four militants and three paramilitary personnel were killed in separate incidents in Pakistan's northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province, authorities said on Monday, amid a surge in militancy in the region bordering Afghanistan.
Security forces conducted an intelligence-based operation in KP's Dera Ismail Khan district on reports about militant presence, according to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the military's media wing.
An intense exchange of fire followed between the two sides and four Pakistani Taliban militants were killed during the operation.
“Weapons and ammunition were also recovered from Indian sponsored killed Khwarij (Pakistani Taliban militants), who remained actively involved in numerous terrorist activities in the area,” the ISPR said.
“Sanitization operation is being conducted to eliminate any other Indian-sponsored kharji found in the area.”
New Delhi did not immediately respond to the Pakistani military's statement.
In the second incident, militants gunned down three personnel of the Federal Constabulary (FC) paramilitary force after a quadcopter attack on an FC camp in KP's Karak district, a police official said on Monday.
The explosive-laden quadcopter struck the FC camp in the Bahadur Khel area early Monday morning and injured seven FC troops, according to Karak police spokesperson Shaukat Khan.
Three FC personnel were killed when militants attacked a Rescue 1122 ambulance which was transporting the injured troops to a hospital following the attack.
“With this incident, the total number of FC personnel martyred has risen to three, while five others, including a member of the rescue team, were injured,” Khan told Arab News.
“A search operation is currently underway to trace those responsible.”
No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, but Pakistani officials have said in the past that armed groups, particularly the Pakistani Taliban, have been increasingly using commercial drones modified to drop explosives, alongside other weapons they say were acquired after the US military withdrawal from neighboring Afghanistan.
Pakistan is witnessing a surge in militancy in its northwestern KP and southwestern Balochistan provinces that border Afghanistan. Islamabad accuses Afghanistan of allowing the use of its soil and India of backing militant groups for cross-border attacks against Pakistan. Kabul and New Delhi deny this.
On Sunday, Pakistani security forces killed five militants, including a suicide bomber, during an intelligence-based operation in the country’s southwestern Balochistan province, the military’s media wing said. The operation took place in Balochistan’s Pishin district after security forces received reports about the presence of Pakistani Taliban militants.
The Pakistani Taliban, or the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), have carried out some of the deadliest attacks against civilians and law enforcement agencies in Pakistan since 2007 in their bid to impose their own brand of Islamic law in the country.
Pakistan also carried out intelligence-based strikes on alleged militant camps and hideouts in Afghanistan’s Nangarhar, Paktika and Khost provinces on Saturday, a security official said. The official said more than 80 militants were killed in the attacks, a claim denied by the Afghan Taliban who said Islamabad killed and wounded dozens of civilians in the strikes.
The strikes have increased tensions between the neighbors, with Afghanistan warning it will retaliate at a “suitable time.”
