Encourage freedoms in Pakistan, Imran asks UK

Former PM Imran Khan, who has been incarcerated for more than a year on multiple charges, has expressed concerns about the state of democracy in Pakistan, urging the UK to take a stand for "freedom and fairness."

In an interview published on Tuesday by a London-based TV channel, Khan called on UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer to uphold democratic values.

In a written response to questions from ITV, Khan was asked about his expectations from the UK government regarding his imprisonment.

He called on PM Starmer's administration to take a firm stand on the principles of peace, freedom, and fairness, emphasising that the UK's commitment to these values would be closely watched on the global stage.

Khan, who maintains that the February elections were rigged to undermine his party's mandate, urged Starmer and his cabinet to consider how they would feel if their electoral triumph was unjustly taken away.

He painted a hypothetical scenario where a party with minimal electoral success usurps power, while his party's leaders are detained or coerced into abandoning their political careers.