Imran Khan OUT for 14 Ahead of Pakistani Election

SANDY: Former Prime Minister of Pakistan Imran Khan… 

JOE: And Legendary all-rounder and captain of the Pakistani cricket team Sands!

SANDY: Yes, thanks Joe – Imran Khan has been sentenced to… 

JOE: He won the 1992 World Cup!

SANDY: Is that right? Ok, Umm, Khan, the former cricket legend – AND Pakistani Prime Minister from 2018 to 2022, has been sentenced to 14 years in prison on charges of corruption and leaking official documents.

JOE: Hang on? What? Imran Khan’s in Jail?  

SANDY: Yes Joe! Khan was already serving a three-year sentence for corruption and was forcibly removed from the office of the Prime Minister last year by a government vote believed to be tied to a U.S. plot for regime change. They even put his wife in jail…  

JOE: But! But he’s a sporting hero! You don’t throw cricket legends in jail Sands! 

SANDY: Look, we’ll never get through this report at this pace Joe – maybe tell us more during sport, hey? 

JOE: Yeah, alright. I’ll catch up with you then… Bet this was the bloody Americans… probably don’t even know he played cricket… 

SANDY: Khan’s latest conviction comes just one week after an election that he was ineligible to run in, angering many of his supporters who believed the charges to be politically motivated. INN’s Rupert Holesworthy has more.

RUPERT HOLESWORTHY: Who is Imran Khan?

JOE: He was one of the fastest bowlers in the world!

HOLESWORTHY: Argh! Where’d you come from?

JOE: I’m in the studio…

HOLESWORTHY: You’re not supposed to be here! This is for voice-overs only! Go away. 

JOE: Sorry…

HOLESWORTHY: Khan was born in  in 1952, the largest city in Pakistan’s Punjab region, and became a legend of international cricket, captaining the national cricket team, winning the 1992 World Cup, and being inducted into the ICC Hall of Fame. His political career began in 1996, when he founded the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party which quickly grew in popularity culminating in Khan becoming the 22nd prime minister of Pakistan in August 2018. For almost 4 years, Imran Khan addressed a bailout payment crisis with the IMF, limiting defence spending to balance government debt, and increased resources for renewable energy while guiding his nation through the  COVID-19 pandemic. But it wasn’t all wickets and centuries for Khan this time – his popularity met with a barrage of short-pitched deliveries from his political opponents not seen since the infamous Bodyline Ashes tour of 1932-33.

Cricket Montage

1. Ball one: April 2022: Khan reveals a March 7 diplomatic cable in which a US Assistant Secretary of State expressed a desire for his removal from office at the risk of ‘horrific consequences’ due to the PM’s neutral stance on the war between Russia and Ukraine. 
2. Ball two: April 2022: A suspiciously timed no-confidence vote in Pakistan’s National Assembly eventually leads to Khan’s removal from office, sparking months of protests.
3. Ball three: October 2022 –  Khan is disqualified by the Pakistani Electoral Commission from taking office for the current term of the National Assembly of Pakistan
4. Ball four – WIDE: November 2022 – Khan survives an assassination attempt during a political rally in Wazirabad, Punjab.
5. Ball four -Rebowled: May 2023 – Khan is arrested on corruption charges after paramilitary troops who smashed their way into the Islamabad High Court, resulting in the arrest of thousands of Khan’s supporters who protested the wild delivery. 
6. Ball five: August 2023 – Khan is sentenced to three-years jail for buying and selling state gifts received during diplomatic visits abroad.
7. Ball six – NO BALL: January 2024 – A ‘special’ court sentenced Khan to a further 10 years in prison for the Lettergate leaking of state secrets and violating the Official Secrets Act. 
8. Ball six – Rebowled: January 2024 – Pakistan’s replacement government [Shehbaz Sharif] quickly added a further 100 charges against Khan, including for inciting terrorism. Khan’s wife also received 14 years in jail for ‘marriage law violations’ and prominent supporters of Khan were intimidated or arrested – journalists and television reporters prevented from even using Khan’s name.

HOLESWORTHY: But who is Khan’s real opponent here? And why were they so threatened by him?  

JOE: Well he could bowl at almost 140kms an hour Rupert!

HOLESWORTHY: I told you to stay out of here!

JOE: Sorry…

HOLESWORTHY: Pakistan went to the voting booth on the 8th of February, where initial reports showed independents aligned with Khan’s PTI party as the clear leaders in 127 seats. However, at a press conference 5 days later, leaders of two opposition parties announced that they would form a coalition government with PML-N’s Shehbaz Sharif as prime minister, despite PTI winning the popular vote by some 4.5 million votes.

So, was this a clear cut US conspiracy plot? Perhaps Khan was seen as too cooperative with Russia and the Chinese? Perhaps his lack of support for the State of Israel had him in hot water? Or maybe it was his March 6 rally, where he carted 22 EU ambassadors and the West in general for 6 over NATO’s devastating war in Afghanistan that affected so many pakistanis. The US remain silent on the 14 years Khan received, saying it’s a matter for Pakistani courts, but as far as the game goes, it seems America is at Stumps on Day 4 of the test, having completed a dominant innings, only the destabilisation of a democratic, nuclear-armed nation of 240 million people providing hope for a  Day 5 twist in this thrilling political test match. Rupert Holesworthy, INN News.