RAWALPINDI – From behind the bars of Adiala Jail, former Prime Minister Imran Khan has delivered a resolute message to his party: endure the pressure or exit the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), reported by The Express Tribune. The call was relayed Saturday by PTI’s legal spokesperson, Naeem Haider Panjutha, who addressed the media after meeting Khan.
According to Panjutha, the PTI founder urged party leaders to adopt a strategy of peaceful resistance amid what he called an increasingly oppressive political climate. “No more bullets—our protests will now be peaceful,” Panjutha quoted Khan as saying, asserting that he will lead the movement from behind bars.
Panjutha alleged the judiciary has become a “subsidiary of the government,” accusing courts and the Election Commission of orchestrating a systematic crackdown on PTI through disqualifications and convictions tied to the 26th Constitutional Amendment. He cited the recent sentencing of MNA Latif Chitrali as part of a wider campaign to silence the party’s elected representatives.
Saturday’s scheduled hearing in the Toshakhana 2 case was derailed, Panjutha said, after most legal representatives were denied entry into the jail courtroom. Former First Lady Bushra Bibi boycotted the session in protest.
Khan, Panjutha claimed, views himself as a prisoner of conscience in the struggle for Haqiqi Azadi—true freedom. He accused anti-terrorism courts of withholding evidence, including CCTV footage from the May 9 events, and criticized the role of past and present judges, likening their conduct to historical miscarriages of justice.
Despite mounting pressure, Khan remains defiant, Panjutha noted, inviting all pro-democracy forces to join PTI’s peaceful movement. “The path forward is open to all,” he said, “but the movement will advance—with or without them.”
