Roger Waters, an English artist and member of Pink Floyd, demanded on Tuesday that Imran Khan, the former prime minister, be freed from his “false imprisonment.”
As a musician from England, I fervently believe in fair play. He penned a note addressed to “the military rulers of Pakistan and their masters in Washington,” saying, “What you are doing in Pakistan is not cricket.”
“Imran Khan has to be freed from his illegitimate detention immediately so that he can lead the PTI in a fresh, transparent, and fair election and Pakistan can have a legitimately elected democratic government that really reflects the will of the country’s citizens. Not the agendas of foreign and local billionaires,” went on the Pink Floyd bassist.
A video montage of Imran and his fans playing 10 cc’s “I Don’t Like Cricket (I Love It)” in the background accompanied his post.
After a tumultuous political year, Pakistan went to the polls last week. Both Pakistan and the international media have taken note of the obvious attempts to undermine the PTI, from the pre-poll phase to election day irregularities to the post-poll counting procedure. Nor has it overlooked the fact that PTI-backed candidates secured a majority of National Assembly seats despite these attempts.
Imran was found guilty and given sentences in three different cases: he was given ten years in prison for the cipher case, which concerned a diplomatic document that the Federal Investigation Agency’s charge sheet claimed Imran never returned; he was given fourteen years in prison for the Toshakhana reference, along with a fine of Rs 0.5 million; and he was given seven years in prison plus a fine for “contracting marriage during the ‘Iddat’ (period of waiting)” of the former first lady. Imran was found guilty for the third time in a row in the Iddat case.
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