A report triggered by an obscure newspaper in Kabul (Afghanistan Times) set the rumour mills running. It claimed, citing credible sources in Pakistan, that former prime minister Imran Khan “has allegedly been mysteriously killed and his body has been moved out of the prison.”
It was not true, and the Adiala Jail authorities later clarified that “There is no truth to reports about his transfer from Adiala Jail. He is fully healthy and receiving complete medical attention.”
Later, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif claimed that Imran Khan was receiving “Premium facilities. Check the menu of the food that comes to him, it is not available even in a five-star hotel.”
He even claimed that Khan slept on a “velvet mattress.”
The Afghanistan Times report and the manner in which it spread probably had its roots in his family members and party colleagues not being allowed to meet him. Reportedly, that is being remedied, but the fact that it spread in the manner in which it did points to something else.
Pakistan’s political and military leaders have died mysterious deaths in the past. The first prime minister, Liaqat Ali Khan, was assassinated by an Afghan national in October 1951 while addressing a rally in Rawalpindi. The motives of the attacker remain unknown since he was killed by the police.
Populist prime minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto was convicted of the murder of a political opponent and hanged in 1979. His trial and hanging took place under martial law.
The man who hanged him, Army Chief Gen Zia Ul-Haq, who was running the country, died when the aircraft he was travelling in crashed in Aug 1988. To date, there’s no clue why the aircraft crashed, although rumours circulate.
Bhutto’s daughter and former prime minister Benazir died when a suicide bomber of the Pakistani Taliban attacked her at a rally in Rawalpindi, the heart of the Pakistani military establishment. It is widely believed that former military dictator Gen Parvez Musharraf had her killed, and the Pakistani Taliban was then a creature of the military.
Imran Khan has said on record that if he ends up dead in prison, Asim Munir is the man who must be held accountable. There is no doubt that for Munir, the jailed former prime minister is the biggest threat to him. But would he take that extreme step and expect to survive whatever follows? History offers the best guide.
