PTI writes to global forums against ‘political victimisation’, attacks

PESHAWAR: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) on Saturday approached Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) and other international forums, seeking support against the ‘political victimisation, assassination attempts and attacks on party’, ARY News reported.

Former National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser penned down letters to Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) and other international forums to inform the world about the “severe violations of human rights” by the incumbent government.

“As a former speaker of the National Assembly, I am compelled to reach out and inform you of the alarmingly violent situation in Pakistan, severe and grave violations of human rights including, abduction, assassination attempts, custodial torture, enforced disappearances, inhuman treatment and murder or eminent journalists and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) political workers, leaders, former and current Members of Parliament, including [the] former prime minister of Pakistan Imran Ahmed Niazi by the present PDM government in Pakistan in connivance with the law enforcement agencies,” he wrote.

The illegal policies & severe violations of HRights of this fascist Govt,I as former Speaker NA has decided to inform the various forums of the world, including @UN,@UNHumanRights @HouseofCommons ,@IPUPresident ,@CPA_Secretariat ,@UKHouseofLords @UN_HRC @IPUparliament pic.twitter.com/EWj96O21DY

— Asad Qaiser (@AsadQaiserPTI) March 25, 2023

In the letter, Asad Qaiser noted that after heavy political horse trading in “peculiar” political circumstances, the party resigned from the Parliament to get a fresh mandate from the people of Pakistan.

He claimed that despite being in an ‘oppressed opposition’, the PTI have won 30 out of 37 by-elections with more than a 50 percent margin against twelve political parties.

“The current government in collaboration with two caretaker governments in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces, have committed such heinous crimes to suppress political dissent by the PTI and have adopted such ignominious methods, that the basic tenets of decency, humanity and all international covenants on human rights are hanging by a tether,” he wrote.

He further said that the ‘fake criminal complaint’ was filed against Imran Khan to force his way out of politics. “This was followed by a coordinated assassination attempt on the life of Khan, wherein he sustained multiple bullet wounds and fractures along with 11 others that were injured and one passerby murdered,” he added.

“Till date, he has not been allowed to exercise his constitutionally mandated right to induct the suspects involved and file a case against the accused persons in the attempted assassination of a former prime minister,” he mentioned.

The letter noted that as of today, 127 “fake and baseless” cases have been filed against the PTI chief; Khan’s residence and family has been attacked more than once and arrested without cause; PTI chief’s supporters are harassed and beaten daily on one pretext or another; Famous investigative journalist Arshad Sharif was murdered during an investigation into “official corruption” by those in power.

Qaiser added that the superior judiciary of Pakistan was under severe attack by the PDM government, which has released a series of “fake audio/videos” in an attempt to blackmail them.

“The current Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has gone so far as to term to the party workers’ militants for resisting violence and his niece, Maryam Nawaz, a party leader has made genocidal statements about the ethnicity of mainstream political workers,” he added.

The former NA speaker urged the global forums to take urgent notice of the situation and “play your role in protecting the people of Pakistan from the monster of political genocide, the annihilation of democracy and mayhem”.