Pakistan is passing through its “darkest period” with “Hitler-era-like repression,” said Noreen Niazi, sister of jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan, in an interview with ANI. Niazi stated that the country’s political climate has worsened to a point where “we used to read stories of tyrants. Now we are living one,” asserting that people are being abducted, assaulted and killed without accountability.
Central to her criticism were claims that the state has empowered security forces to act without restraint. “They had been given the license to assault anyone they find,” she told ANI, blaming that even women, elderly and children have been beaten as part of the crackdown on supporters of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI). She further added that the pattern of repression reminded her of the “Hitler era-the way people were dragged into basements.”
Denied access to Imran Khan for weeks
Niazi stated that she and her sisters have been banned from meeting Imran Khan for more than a month, escalating rumours about his condition. “We have been going there for the last four weeks, and they are not letting us meet him,” she added, describing the secrecy related to his treatment in Adiala Jail.
The PTI founder has again been kept in isolation, repeating the conditions from last year when electricity was cut for weeks. She says that this violates even the prison manual. “No one knows what’s happening inside the jail. This is the pinnacle of oppression,” she added.
Niazi cautioned that public anger was reaching a breaking point. “I think just one spark is enough, then even they won’t know to what extent people will go,” she mentioned. The current government lacks legitimacy and has “no public support,” she added.
She also expressed sharp criticism of Pakistan’s media environment as well, terming it suffocating. “They oppress them so much that they are let out, they are not even allowed to speak,” she mentioned. Naizi also underlined the disappearances and intimidation faced by journalists like Agha Shiekh Sarwar and Shorab Barkat.
Niazi on Shehbaz Sharif government
The Shehbaz Sharif government is surviving only through rigging and backing from “foreign forces,” she accused that Western powers publicly acknowledge election fraud, yet they continue aiding Islamabad.
She ended by appealing to Pakistanis, especially those who are living abroad and have more freedom to raise their voices. “Pakistanis abroad have a voice and freedom that those inside the country lack,” she further added, urging for solidarity.
