Monitoring Desk: What is the story behind deleting an X message from the PTI official account about PTI’s decision to appoint a UK-based firm known for contesting human rights abuses cases?
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) deleted a Twitter message in which it said the party had hired the services of human rights lawyer, Geoffrey Robertson KC to raise the issue of Khan’s arrest in international courts, possibly in the International Court of Justice.
PTI is already running road shows and media campaigns in North America and Europe against the Pakistan Army claiming that PTI is facing “unlawful detentions and human rights abuses” engineered by military leadership.
The target of all campaigns is not the previous PDM government or now sitting interim government but rather the GHQ for obvious reasons. One of the obvious reasons is that PTI believed the Pakistan Army itself dismantled “Project Imran” which was heavily invested by foreign powers and former President Asif Ali Zardari in many instances claimed that the House of Goldsmiths was behind launching Imran Khan for certain vested interests. Zardari did not explain what kind of vested interests the House of Goldsmith had behind the move to install Imran Khan as the most powerful person in the history of Pakistan for 42 months long unchecked rule. However, if someone browses events of the last 20 years, the most unpleasant development for Western countries was Pakistan’s announcement of being a nuclear state. West understands that dismantling of nuclear capabilities of Pakistan is highly impossible so the immediate demand had been to slow down or to halt further enhancement of nuclear capability and the powerful Imran Khan could do it. Other areas of concern for Western powers are Pakistan’s powerful missile program and China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).
The instant departure of Imran Khan from power looks too shocking to accept for Western media, think tanks, and even for Western diplomats in Islamabad who are yet to come out of this shock and are in constant contact with PTI leadership. The Australian envoy in Islamabad is providing hosting services to link PTI leadership with the rest of the Western Diplomatic Corps in Islamabad.
One of the top Western demands had been scrapping the CPEC project and the virtual halting of the CPEC during PTI’s rule and allegations of corruption PTI’s ministers leveled against CPEC well served Washington. Honestly speaking, Western diplomats, think tanks as well and the media can help PTI again by raising issues such as Human Rights violations, the absence of Freedom of Expression, the truancy of an all-inclusive democracy, and the nonexistence of a level-playing field for all political parties.
West always uses the above-mentioned dictions to twist the arms of “countries of concern” like Iran, Saudi Arabia, Russia, China, Pakistan, and Central Asian republics. The extensive lobbying of PTI in the West had already written a “post elections observation report” that (forthcoming) General Elections were “rigged” so be ready that the West is not going to give you honest observations even Pakistan will hold the cleanest ever General Elections in near future.
In these circumstances, hiring more international legal and lobbying firms PTI is a move to further abuse Pakistan and the decision to bring Robertson on board was confirmed by the PTI as well as the firm on their X account, where they shared screenshots of a post by the Doughty Street Chambers. The withdrawal of the decision to hire the firm is an interesting twist in the story. However, the reversal of this decision is an interesting development that the majority of journalists are trying to figure out.
