Imran Khan has written a number of articles for foreign newspapers and publications, the latest being in TIME Magazine on 28th February painting a very dismal picture in regards to democracy, and human rights besides alleged claims of political persecution against him and leaders and workers of his party in Pakistan. While dubbing the incumbent government as an authoritarian entity supported by the establishment he minces no words to invite foreign interference to stop the government from pursuing the alleged course. I have been writing on political issues in Pakistani newspapers for the last seventeen years since my retirement from government service in 2008 and have invariably supported and endorsed democracy with the firm belief that peace and progress in a country are inconceivable without it. I have served in very senior positions in the government for 32 years of my service and closely watched the devious machinations employed by political governments to dupe people in the name of democracy and religion. They all practised power politics, and political vendetta against their opponents and showed scant respect for moral and social values to pursue their objectives. Poor segments of society have never been their priority, though they invariably cried hoarsely from every convenient roof-top about their credential to serve the masses. Imran Khan was in no way different from them. This discourse is aimed at unravelling the facts about what he has said in his article in TIME magazine so that the people can make their informed judgment about the permeating political scenario in Pakistan. In the very first paragraph of his article, he says he is confined in a solitary cell which is strongly repudiated by the facilities he is actually enjoying in the prison on the orders of the court which has been consistently reported in the Pakistani media. His family members and lawyers frequently meet him and he frequently also interacts with the media. The way the security forces are dealing with the scourge of terrorism and the unprecedented sacrifices that they are rendering are not only acknowledged by the entire nation but also by the international community. The assertion that he has been convicted on politically motivated charges does not sound convincing in view of the fact that he has been convicted on charges of corruption by a court of law. His confinement has not come through an executive order of the government. The reiteration that there has been an erosion of democracy in Pakistan makes no sense as it has never been practised in Pakistan. What he did during his regime is a ranting testimony of pummeling the democratic norms. He failed to develop working relations with the opposition which is the pivot of the democratic system and instead resorted to political vendetta by instituting false cases against the opposition leaders as corroborated by their acquittal by the courts of law. The case against Rana Sanaullah was a total farce and in the end, a leader of the PTI admitted that he was wrongly involved in that case. Imran’s government even did not spare the judiciary. It sent a wrong reference to the supreme judicial council against an honourable judge of the apex court Qazi Faez Isa who successfully defended the charges. Later Imran Khan himself confessed that it was a mistake to send the reference against him. Further after coming into power, he dissolved Local bodies in Punjab and never held new elections and I am afraid they have not been held as yet. That explains his love for democracy. Further, the detention and conviction of PTI workers by the military courts is not political persecution. They have been convicted for their involvement in attacks on military installations and monuments of the martyrs. While he claims fraud in the elections to bring the current government into power, he conveniently avoids mentioning the manipulation of 2018 election results to catapult him into the corridors of power which is an open secret now. Referring to the resurgence of terrorism in Pakistan, he says that instead of addressing the security threats the resources of the military have been diverted to a campaign of vengeance against his party. The claim also belies ground realities. The way the security forces are dealing with the scourge of terrorism and the unprecedented sacrifices that they are rendering are not only acknowledged and appreciated by the entire nation but also by the international community. He further claims that the judiciary instead of being a bulwark of justice has been reduced to a tool of political persecution. I do not have to say much on this except that the high courts and SC during the trial of Imran’s political opponents have repeatedly made the remarks that the government was using NAB for political engineering. In his article, he states that when he authorized his party to engage in dialogue with the government to end violence he was offered house arrest in exchange for ambiguous ‘political space’ for PTI which he rejected because of his demand for a judicial commission to investigate attacks on PTI workers and release of political prisoners was not accepted. The truth is that the government never made any offer to him as claimed by him. It was a proposal by KPK Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur who admitted this in a TV interview with Nadeem Malik of SAMAA TV. Congratulating the President on his re-election he says “We look forward to his administration reaffirming its commitment to democratic principles, human rights and the rule of law-particularly in the regions where authoritarianism threatens to undermine values. A democratic and stable Pakistan is in the interest of international community and we will continue to push for that balance to be restored” First of all calling Trump a man committed to principles and human rights is hypocrisy which also descends into the realm of sycophancy. It has been done to incite him to interfere in Pakistan. Trump has acted exactly the opposite of what Imran Khan has eulogized him for. Even his European Allies are wary of the indiscretions he has committed in pursuing foreign relations. His strong support for Israel and plans for Gaza are enough to expose his humanitarian credentials. After having thrown light on Imran’s narrative my sincere advice to him and his party is that they need serious rethinking intending to remain relevant to the future political landscape. We do need reforms in the system of governance, and electoral system which is the root cause of political disputes and fighting the scourge of terrorism as a united nation which has posed an existentialist threat to the country. Instead of looking beyond the frontiers of the country, the party must sincerely look for home-grown solutions evolved through consensus among all the political stakeholders. As far as the release of Imran Khan is concerned it is for the courts to play their role in consonance with the law and the constitution. The writer is a former diplomat and freelance columnist.