Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf condemns 1,000 days of Imran Khan’s incarceration

Islamabad: The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has condemned the detention of former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan, which has completed 1,000 days, terming it a blatant act of political victimisation, total denial of constitutional and legal justification and calling for his immediate release, according to a report.

In a statement, PTI Central Information Secretary Waqas Akram said PTI founder Imran Khan is being subjected to political victimisation as the current government, afraid of his popularity and independent stance, is trying to sideline him, the UAE’s Gulf Today reported.

Akram stated that Imran Khan and his wife, Bushra Bibi, were being subjected to inhumane treatment. He alleged that the PTI founder is being held in solitary confinement, while his family, lawyers, and party leadership were not allowed to meet him, which amounts to a clear violation of fundamental human and legal rights.

Earlier, the Islamabad High Court heard appeals and sentence suspension pleas in the 190 million pounds case involving Imran Khan and Bushra Bibi. During the court hearing, the defence voiced serious concerns over solitary confinement and health issues, prompting the court to indicate an early hearing of the appeals, Gulf Today reported.

Barrister Salman Safdar represented Imran Khan, while NAB prosecutors Javed Ashraf and Rafi Maqsood appeared on behalf of the prosecution. During the hearing, Safdar stated that he had met PTI founder on April 8; however, he was not allowed to meet Bushra Bibi despite clear orders. Safdar raised several issues, including concerns about Imran Khan’s eyesight. He mentioned that Imran Khan’s eyesight had deteriorated by 85 per cent and that he was experiencing difficulty seeing even with one eye.

Earlier in March, Imran Khan’s son, Kasim Khan, termed his father’s detention “arbitrary” and raised serious concerns over treatment by the Pakistani authorities, which he said breaches international human rights conventions.

During the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) session in Geneva, Kasim Khan said that Imran Khan’s case was not an “isolated incident” but was the “most visible example” of a much wider pattern of repression in Pakistan since 2022. He spoke about the detention of political prisoners, trial and conviction of civilians by military courts, and journalists being “silenced, abducted or driven into exile,” Pakistani daily Dawn reported.

Kasim Khan, who said that his father was being held in solitary confinement, also spoke about the general elections held in Pakistan in February 2024, reiterating PTI’s allegations that polls were rigged. He said that Pakistan had made commitments under the GSP-plus framework to uphold international human rights conventions, including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the United Nations Convention against Torture.

He said that Imran Khan is not allowed to meet his family and is being denied medical care. He also highlighted that the trial of civilians in military courts violated treaty obligations, Dawn reported.

“My brother and I are not political people. We never wanted to come before bodies like this. [But] my father’s life demands that we take action. We cannot stand by as his health deteriorates and he is kept away from us. If the situation were reversed, we know he would not stop fighting until we were free. That is the very least we can do for him,” he added.

IANS