Internet cut off, barred from travel, Imran Khan is isolated: report
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Islamabad: Former Prime Minister of Pakistan Imran Khan is getting increasingly isolated in his residence without having access to even internet after the government started crackdown on his party.
Imran Khan, according to a report by Bloomberg, is ‘holed up’ at his residence in Lahore with the internet connection being cut off on Wednesday.
The connection was snapped when he was to have a scheduled interaction with British lawmakers to discuss their concern about Pakistan’s ‘deteriorating political, economic and security situation’.
It is reported on Friday that authorities have put Khan and his wife on a ‘no-fly list’ alongside barring him from leaving the country.
His movements have been further restricted after the police compounded most of his ‘armored vehicles’, Bloomberg reported citing a close aide of the beleaguered leader.
The government is reportedly acting against Khan after being instigated by the country’s military establishment, which earlier promised strict action against Khan’s supporters for vandalizing army installations during riot weeks ago.
More than 10,000 of Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf have so far been arrested along with several of its top leaders.
News reports today said that many PTI leaders have either quit the party or are in jails.
The government’s crackdown on Imran Khan stems from the fact that the former cricketer has grown in popularity quite unmatched by any other leader in the nation today.
The government and the army somehow want to cut down the size of the party before the nation goes to poll in October, if it at all takes place.
The report by Bloomberg predicts Khan is facing similar fate of previous prime ministers who were ‘jailed, exiled or executed’.
Imran Khan came to power apparently with the support of the army in the 2018 election.
Things turned against him after he ‘messed with the military hierarchy’, which is often considered the most important institution in the nation.
Adding to the deteriorating situation, his supporters vandalised army installations during riots, which prompted the establishment to act.