Pakistan 'descending into a banana republic', says Imran Khan after arrest of close aide Shahbaz Gill

In the midst of the turmoil over the detention of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Shahbaz Gill, former prime minister Imran Khan claimed on Wednesday that Pakistan is "descending into a banana republic."

“Descending into a banana republic. The civilised world will be shocked at our levels of barbarism,"tweetedImran Khan, along with avideo of Gill being transported to the hospital. "The worst part is an easy target has been chosen to make an example of through torture and without a fair trial."

Add WION as a Preferred Source

"Meanwhile the likes of NS, Maryam, MFR, AZ, all of whom have in the worst possible way & repeatedly attacked State institutions through malicious and targeted statements against them, get away without even a hint of a reprimand," he said in another tweet.

Watch |Pakistan police arrest PTI’s Shahbaz Gill on sedition charges

Voicingconcern about Shahbaz Gill being detained again, the PTI chief alleged that Gill's arrest is a conspiracy to target him and his party.

"He is in a fragile state of mental and physical health because of the torture inflicted on him when he was abducted and taken to an undisclosed location and then again at the police station. This is part of a conspiracy to target me and PTI by forcibly getting false statements against us similar to what they have been doing against social media activists," he said.

As per ANI, on August 9, Gill was detained by authorities after making contentious comments on television about the Pakistani army that the nation's media regulator deemed to be "highly hateful and seditious".

PTI claims that Gill was previously tortured while in police custody and that his life is still in danger.

The court's decision to place Gill on physical remand has also drawn criticism from the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) whichtweeted, "Any allegations that he was mistreated while on remand should also be investigated fairly and transparently."

Gill, a close ally of Imran Khan, has now been transferred to the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) hospital due to a health issue.

(With inputs from agencies)

Watch WION LIVE HERE:

You can now write for wionews.com and be a part of the community. Share your stories and opinions with us here.