'Bullied, Harassed Into Silence By PML-N Goons': Former Wife Of Imran Khan, Jemima Goldsmith

Rebuking the Shehbaz Sharif-led government, Imran Khan’s ex-wife Jemima Goldsmith on Tuesday said she has been “bullied and harassed into silence”, as she backed the former Pakistan Prime Minister who is incarcerated in a high-security prison in Rawalpindi.

“I usually don’t comment on Pakistani politics. I disagree with IK on many political issues. But this is not about politics- it’s about my children’s father, his human rights & international law. For the past few years, I’ve been bullied & harassed into silence by PML-N goons, including rape threats & countless conspiracy theories,” Goldsmith wrote on X.

“Meanwhile Twitter/X is banned in Pakistan, PTI party members & civilian supporters have been abducted, anyone with a platform who was speaking out is now in jail & silenced, Imran Khan’s photo and name have been censored on state television,” she added.

Goldsmith’s post on X came as Khan has so far been embroiled in over 150 cases and has been sentenced in several, including to three years, 10 years, 14 years and seven years to be served concurrently under Pakistani law.

Khan’s convictions were later overturned in appeals but he cannot be freed due to other, pending cases against him. He has maintained his innocence and has argued that the cases are an attempt to sideline him politically by keeping him out of the public area. His Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party, or PTI, has also been demanding his release.

SCO Meet

On Tuesday, Imran Khan’s party called off its protest as the 23rd meeting of the Council of the Heads of Government (CHG) of the member states of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation begins here under tight security. The two-day meeting will discuss ongoing cooperation in fields of economy, trade, environment and socio-cultural linkages and review the performance of the Organisation.

Pakistan assumed the rotating chair of the SCO CHG, the second highest forum within the SCO, for 2023-24 at the previous meeting, held in Bishkek in October 2023. The CHG meeting is being chaired by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. The threat of unrest was avoided when the Pakistan Tehreeki-Insaf last night agreed to call off its protest in the capital after the assurance by the government that a medical team would be allowed to meet its jailed leader 72-year-old Khan.

Adiala Jail

It has announced a protest to force the government to allow a meeting with Khan in jail after authorities stopped all kinds of meetings with inmates in Adiala Jail Rawalpindi, including Khan, ahead of the SCO meeting. However, the issue was resolved late Monday night when the PTI accepted assurance by the government that a doctor would be allowed to see Khan on Tuesday.

“After long consideration and negotiations that went back and forth…, we decided to call off the protest,” Khan’s international spokesman Zulfiqar Bukhari said in a WhatsApp voice message.  He also said that the PTI was also urged by its political allies and friendly embassies to postpone the protest. He, however, defended the right to protest on the occasion of an international event which he said was an international norm as all over the world protests are held on such occasions.

(With agency inputs)