His Party Should Not Campaign, Former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan Uses AI To Greet Supporters

JAKARTA - The former Pakistani prime minister is in prison, Imran Khan, using audio clips produced by artificial intelligence (AI) to speak to his supporters, the first time this has happened in politics in the country, despite internet disruptions.

The audio, played with Khan's photo background during the online campaign of the Pakistan Party Tereek-e-Insaf, attracted more than 1.4 million views on YouTube and was watched live by tens of thousands of people on other social media.

"Our party is not allowed to hold a rally," Khan said in his speech, urging his supporters to attend in large numbers in general elections scheduled for February 8, "reported Reuters December 18.

"Our supporters were kidnapped and their families were harassed."

Disruption while streaming immediately sparked transparency concerns about upcoming elections, but with users across the country complaining of slow internet speeds and restrictions, a technique telecommunications regulator uses to inhibit streaming on apps.

Meanwhile, Pakistani telecommunications regulators said the disturbance was being investigated, but added that overall internet access seemed normal.

Khan's speech resulted from a written version he agreed to in prison, party officials, who held the event, said because they faced a state-backed crackdown on physical gatherings, while leaders could not appear in the media.

Murtaza Solangi, the minister of information in Pakistan's interim government tasked with overseeing elections allegedly benefiting against Khan, did not respond to a request for comment from Reuters.

Khan has been jailed since being found guilty and sentenced to three years in prison on corruption charges on August 5, Khan followed dozens of trials, with several trials held in prison behind closed doors, which law experts say violates the rights to a fair process.

The political crisis has hit the former 71-year-old cricket star since his sacking last year in a vote of confidence in parliament. The party's crackdown followed an attack on the military site in May by supporters protesting its brief arrests.

Khan previously won the last general election in 2018, a victory that his opponents said was achieved with military aid, which often played a major role in shaping and destroying governments in Pakistan.

But he also blamed the military for his dismissal, after clashing with the generals over the appointment of the head of Pakistan's intelligence agency, although the military denied supporting or dismissing him.