Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf holds nationwide protests to mark 3 years of Imran Khan’s imprisonment

Islamabad: The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) held nationwide protests to mark three years of PTI founder Imran Khan’s imprisonment, with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi announcing that the party will again hold a march on September 27 if authorities do not lift the restrictions imposed on the party founder, local media reported on Thursday.

While addressing people in Peshawar on Wednesday, Afridi said that PTI demands included unrestricted meetings with Imran Khan, allowing the PTI founder to receive treatment from his personal physician and expeditious hearings of court cases against him, Pakistan-based leading daily The Express Tribune reported.

Afridi said, “If these demands are not met, we will march on Islamabad on September 27.”

He said that Imran Khan could secure his release from prison with a “single signature”, but he continued to remain in prison for the sake of the country, its people and future generations. He stated that PTI had lost hope in Pakistan’s courts after the 26th and 27th constitutional amendments were implemented by the government.

A large number of PTI’s former Members of Provincial Assembly – Ayesha Banu, Momina Basit, and women from the Women Wing, participated in a rally in Peshawar to mark three years of Imran Khan’s imprisonment.

Protests were held in Quetta on the call given by Tehreek Tahafuz Ayeen-i-Pakistan (TTAP) chief Mahmood Khan Achakzai. Similarly, protests were staged outside Aiwan-e-Adl in Lahore, where members of the Insaf Lawyers Forum and senior party leaders led a rally and called for the immediate release of Imran Khan.

In Karachi, PTI supporters staged a demonstration near Karachi Press Club and traffic disruptions were reported as authorities blocked roads leading to the venue. In response to the protests, police arrested several PTI leaders and workers and used tear gas and baton charges to disperse demonstrators, The Express Tribune reported.

Similarly, Imran Khan’s party also held protests in Nawabshah, Hyderabad, Umerkot, Mirpurkhas, Mithi and other parts of Sindh, where the demonstrators called for the party founder’s release.

Imran Khan has remained in prison since August 2023 after convictions that his party, PTI, has termed politically motivated. Since his ouster from office in 2022 through a no-confidence vote, Imran Khan has faced several cases, including allegations involving state gifts and an unlawful marriage case.

Last month, UN Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, Alice Jill Edwards, expressed concerns over reports of former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan’s detention conditions and his not getting access to proper medical care. She also urged Pakistan to restore humane conditions and allow the former PM to access medical examination and treatment of his own choice.

In a post shared on LinkedIn, Edwards mentioned that Khan has been kept in near-total solitary confinement for 33 months in a small, windowless cell and is often not allowed to have human contact for over two weeks continuously.

“Fmr PM Imran Khan has now been held in near-total solitary for 33 months in a small, windowless cell under 24-7 CCTV. Often more than 2 weeks continuously, without exercise or meaningful human contact. This far exceeds the MANDELA rules,” Edwards wrote in a post on LinkedIn.

“I am also concerned about reports that he is being denied proper medical and is suffering from serious medical issues that have not been treated appropriately, compounding a spinal injury from a 2013 accident and bullet wounds sustained in a November 2022 assassination attempt. I call on Pakistan to restore humane conditions and allow him his choice of medical examination and appropriate treatment,” she added.

IANS