Islamabad: A United Nations human rights working group has called for the immediate release of incarcerated former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan and said he had been detained "arbitrarily in violation of international laws". The 71-year-old Imran has been behind bars since August last year and has been convicted in a volley of cases in the run-up to the February general elections.
The UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention made the demand after examining the Pakistan PM's case in which he was sentenced last year on charges of corruption. It demanded Imran's release, saying it was an “appropriate remedy.” The group said Imran's conviction in the Toshakhana graft case was part of a "much larger campaign of repression targeting the PTI (Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf) generally" and him specifically.
"In the lead up to Pakistan's February 2024 general elections, PTI candidates were arrested, tortured, and intimidated into leaving the party; PTI rallies were disrupted and blocked; and the party was deprived of its iconic cricket bat symbol, forcing its candidates to run as independents," it said, adding that Imran was facing over 150 politically motivated criminal cases, including three major convictions just days before the election.
Imran's party hails group's findings
It further said the detention in the graft case “had no legal basis and appears to have been intended to disqualify him from running for office" and that the former PM was detained for "exercising his right to freedom of expression of opinion". He was also denied a fair trial and due process rights, it said.
“For Khan, who is 71 years old, the combined prison term of 34 years amounts to a life sentence,” the group said. Imran Khan's spokesman Zulfi Bukhari, welcomed the group's findings and demands for his immediate release. The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf also hailed the findings of the UN working group and reiterated its demand for the ex-PM's urgent release.
Imran has been held in prison since August 2023 when a court awarded him a three-year prison sentence after finding him guilty of hiding assets after selling state gifts. It led to a ban on the ex-Pakistan PM from taking part in politics and contesting the Feb 8 elections, which his party says were rigged. Despite being banned and a military-backed crackdown, Imran's party won the most seats in the Feb 8 vote but fell short of a majority to form a government.
The PTI has called the election rigged, an allegation supported by the Geneva-based UN working group, which pointed out the arrests of various PTI leaders and the alleged custodial torture inflicted upon them as well as restriction on holding election rallies in the lead up to the polls. It also alleged the "widespread fraud on election day, stealing dozens of parliamentary seats, according to Geo News.
Cases lodged against Imran Khan
The cricketer-turned-politician rose to power in 2018 but was ousted in a no-confidence motion in 2022 by a united opposition - the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) - comprising of several parties including the Nawaz Sharif-led Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and Bilawal Bhutto-led Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP). Since then, the former PM has launched a tirade of claims against the Army and also blamed the US for his ouster.
His five-year disqualification in the Toshakhana case was suspended by the Islamabad High Court after he was imprisoned in August 2023. Days before the elections, Imran was sentenced to 10 years in the cipher case for leaking state secrets, 14 years in the Toshakhana corruption case, and seven years in an illegal marriage case with Bushra Bibi. Two of the cases have been suspended so far, but a court rejected their pleas in the illegal marriage case.
He also faces a trial under anti-terrorism charges in connection with violence in May last year. The host of legal cases were brought against the PTI founding chairman after he was ousted, one of which also disqualified him as a candidate in February's election. The US, Britain and the European Union have expressed concern about the reported irregularities in the elections and urged a probe, which was slammed by the Pakistan Parliament.
(with PTI inputs)
