Western meddling

First it was the British high commissioner in Islamabad who cast doubts on the fairness and impartiality of the February general elections. Then, the US House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly demanding a probe into the elections. Now, the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention has held that the cases against Imran Khan were without legal basis and politically motivated to exclude him from competing in the political arena. This is not the first time that general elections in Pakistan were controversial or when cases have been made against political leaders that were without legal basis and politically motivated to exclude them from competing in elections. Imran Khan’s government was perhaps the leader in both getting controversial help in elections and pursuing dubious cases against political opponents. So why did no British diplomat or the US Congress or the UN say anything about it between 2018 and 2022? Why have they awakened now to the alleged rigging of elections and imprisonment of our political leaders?

Shakir Lakhani

Karachi