ISLAMABAD  -  Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI founder and incarcerated former prime minister Imran Khan Saturday said his party’s struggle is not against the institution of the military, rather they are fighting for democracy, independence of judiciary and restoration of the Constitution.

In a statement issued on X by his party on his behalf, Khan said their fight was for the rights of the people.

“We are fighting for confining institutional operations within the domain of the Constitution. We are fighting to restore people’s freedoms so that they could lead Pakistan to become a formidable country,” he said.

The remarks of the jailed leader came at a time when PTI was holding a grand rally in Swabi district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa as part of the party’s efforts to build up public pressure on the Shehbaz Sharif administration for his release.

The ex-premier said Pakistan was passing through one of its darkest phases, where there was a complete collapse of law and order and brute force was being used unabated to destroy the very foundations of democracy, Constitution, and rule of law.

“Judiciary is being enslaved with the executive being given powers well beyond its constitutional entitlement, thus gravely impacting the structure of trichotomy of power.”

He alleged nobody was safe from the prevalent “fascism” as PTI’s legislators or leaders, their businesses, their properties and their families, even women and children, were under assault. Azam Swati, Khawaja Shiraz, Intizar Panjotha have all been abducted and tortured. “All established red lines have been fractured with total disregard for human rights.”

Khan deplored that the silence of the legal fraternity was disturbing in the wake of the 26th Constitutional Amendment. Judiciary’s independence has been brutally assaulted, and judges turned into dispensable commodities, he said, noting this must be resisted with full vigour and faith by the legal community.

He again alleged that the ruling parties were defeated in the February 8 elections, but the results were stolen in the darkness of night.

“I have been subjected to solitary confinement and torture in a dark cell by those who control Adiala (Jail). My Lahore house was raided when my wife was alone. My sisters and other relatives have been mercilessly targeted. I have not been allowed to speak to my children and denied all rights that the Constitution grants me.”

The PTI chief said no outside force would help them in the given circumstances. “We must do it ourselves. We must regain our freedom, our dignity and self-respect,” he added.

This can be done only if the stolen mandate of February 8 is restored to the people of Pakistan and those whom they selected as their leaders, he emphasized. The governments installed on the basis of a stolen mandate lack legitimacy and relevance, he said.

PTI founder Khan urged his followers and supporters to step out of their homes to reclaim their mandate. “PTI is the largest political party of the country. We have the people’s trust. We must not fail them.”

This is the time to launch a peaceful movement for the restoration of the Constitution, democracy and rule of law, the former prime minister said and added, “I call upon all segments of the society to play their role. I especially urge my ticket holders to join the movement.”