Imran Khan

Imran Khan, 71, was taken into custody in August following allegations that he had breached the Official Secrets Act by disclosing a confidential diplomatic cable from the Pakistani embassy in Washington in March of the previous year. The charge sheet, filed by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) on September 30, invoked sections 5 and 9 of the Official Secrets Act, which carry the possibility of a death sentence or imprisonment ranging from two to 14 years if they are convicted.

Besides serving as head of the Tiger force, an organisation formed to induct and promote young volunteers to work for the party, Dar was also the former Special Assistant to Khan on Youth Affairs, under which the Kamyaab Jawaan programme was launched.

During election campaigns, mentioning of India through the lens of Kashmir has remained a part of every political party’s election manifesto. And even after decades, the India mention for political gains remains unchanged.

The party's top leadership along with its hardcore supporters have seen a major clampdown against their leader and the entire Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) large since the military establishment and the state decided to not spare anyone involved in the May 9 riots and vandalism.

According to The News, the deposed Prime Minister -- who was ousted from office following a no-confidence motion in April last year -- was responding to questions posed during an interrogation in the Attock jail by a three-member team of the Federal Investigation Agency's (FIA) Cybercrime Circle, headed by Deputy Director Ayyaz Khan.

A trial court in Islamabad on August 5 had sentenced Khan to three years' imprisonment and slapped a fine of Rs 1,00,000 while hearing the Election Commission of Pakistan's criminal complaint against the former Prime Minister for concealing the details of Toshakhana gifts.

According to the findings based on a conversations between the judge and Khan, it was revealed that the former premier was seriously and gravely concerned about a CCTV camera, which was installed right in front of his prison cell, leaving no room for privacy. 

When the cricketer-turned-politician became Prime Minister in 2018, the then opposition parties termed him a “selected” premier, who had been brought to power by the support of the military establishment. The establishment was further criticised for tampering in the election process, using their influence to join Khan and help form a majority government.

However, keeping the current situation in view, with Imran Khan out of the next general election race, coupled with the defection of major party leadership after the May 9 riots, PTI may find itself in a difficult position to make an impactful comeback in the next elections. 

The development comes just a day after Bushra Bibi met her husband in the Attock jail for the first time after the PTI chief got arrested from his Zaman Park residence in Lahore on August 5 in connection with the Toshakhana case. Khan has been accused of misusing his 2018-2022 tenure to "buy" and "sell" gifts in state possession that were received during visits abroad and were worth more than Rs 140 million ($635,000).