Pakistan facing darkest times, Hitler-like repression: Imran Khan's sister

Lahore [Pakistan], November 28 (ANI): Pakistan is going through its darkest time and witnessing "Hitler-era-like repression," with citizens being killed, beaten, and jailed without accountability, said Noreen Niazi, sister of jailed and former Prime Minister Imran Khan.

In an exclusive interview with ANI, Noreen Niazi called Pakistan Army Chief General Asim Munir a "dictator" and described Shehbaz Sharif's government as the most "unpopular" in the country's history.

"Pakistan is going through its darkest period. We used to read stories of tyrants; now we are living one. People are abducted and killed. I met a young man in Peshawar--shot in the head on November 26 last year--paralysed, his body destroyed. There are countless such cases," she said.

"Sometimes I feel like the stories we heard about the Hitler era--the way people were dragged into basements--are repeating here," she added.

Noreen's brother, Imran Khan, the patron-in-chief of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), has been in jail since August 2023 in multiple cases. The government has placed an undeclared ban on meetings with him for over one month.

Noreen Niazi, and Imran Khan's other sisters, Aleema Khan and Dr Uzma Khan, camped outside Adiala Jail along with other Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) members after being denied a meeting with him for a month. They were reportedly attacked by Pakistan's Punjab Police last week.

"We have been going there for the last four weeks, and they are not letting us meet him. This is why such rumours are spreading (that he has been killed)," she said.

When asked about the action meted out against her, Noreen called out the police for their "misbehaviour."

"For the first time in Pakistan, they don't care whether it's a child, an elderly person--nothing. They have been given the licence to assault anyone they find. As if no one will question them," she said.

She warned that public frustration is mounting. Citizens are increasingly fed up with the government and the incarceration of Imran Khan, and even a small trigger could set off widespread protests.

"I think just one spark is enough--then even they won't know to what extent people will go. The oppression is too much. People are coming out, and they will continue to come out. Even today, people are sitting there. We were also there on Tuesday till midnight. I think just one spark is enough--then even they won't know to what extent people will go. The oppression is too much," Niazi said.

"They are very unpopular people. They have no public support. Imran Khan's strength is public support--people from every background stand with him. No one stands with this government. People are angry and fed up. When you oppress your own people, they will never support you," she added.

Niazi explained that Shehbaz Sharif's position is largely backed by powerful forces behind the scenes, which she believes is why the current system in Pakistan continues despite public discontent.

"They lost all elections. They inflated numbers--if someone got 1,400 votes, they made it 101,400. They stole everything. That is why they are weak. And the weaker they are, the more force they use. They have the support of foreign forces," she said.

She expressed disappointment in the international community, saying that foreign powers are aware of human rights violations but choose not to act. "Pakistanis abroad have a voice and freedom that those inside the country lack, and they should use it to speak out against oppression," she added. (ANI)

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