Click to play videoNew Delhi: Speaking out for the first time since his release from prison, Pakistani opposition leader and former cricketer Imran Khan speaks exclusively to CNN's Karl Penhaul.
Urging politicians to unite against Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf, he said the entire world knows it will be the most fraudulent election.
Imran also talked about his experiences in jail, the political situation and whether he regrets leaving cricket for politics.
“The conditions were bad, in jail but the people were full of respect,” he said.
On the Supreme Court's clean chit to Musharraf, Imran said, “The whole drama was to legitimise his rule. These judges would approve anything if Musharraf wanted to be emperor of Pakistan, they will do anything.”
When asked about Benazir being the key to the Oppostion movement, he said, “All the other opposition parties are agreed that these will be the most fraudulent elections in the history of Pakistan. The only question mark is Benazir. We don't know if she will oppose or support it.”
“Her past record is bad. Benazir basically backstabbed the Opposition, and so there's a lot of suspicion. But we will forgive her completely if she opposes the elections,” he added
When asked if Bush was being the cause of anti-Americanism, Imran was affirmative. “George Bush is creating the anti-Americanism in Pakistan. How does he think we Pakistanis feel when he prioritises one man over 160 million people?” he asked.
On leaving cricket for politics, Imran said when people are benefiting from the status quo and one is opposing it, one can be in danger of losing your life. “When I came in (to politics) I knew I was in it till the end, so what happened in the past few weeks isn't that bad. I knew I was in it right till I live,” said Imran.
(For updates you can share with your friends, follow IBNLive on Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and Pinterest)
More on IBNLive Right Now
TOP NEWS
MOST SHARED
PHOTOGALLERY
