UN body demands immediate release of PTI founder

GENEVA: A United Nations (UN) human rights working group demanded the immediate release of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder and former Prime Minister Imran Khan, maintaining that he was detained in ‘violation of international law’.

“(The) appropriate remedy would be to release Mr. Khan immediately and accord him an enforceable right to compensation and other reparations, in accordance with international law,” the Geneva-based UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention maintained read in its report.

The UN body also maintained that Imran Khan was ‘reportedly instrumentalized for a political purpose’

”(The) working group concludes that his (Imran Khan) detention had no legal basis and appears to have been intended to disqualify him from running for political office. Thus, from the outset, that prosecution was not grounded in law and was reportedly instrumentalised for a political purpose,” the report read.

Earlier, Deputy spokesperson for the US Department of State Vedant Patel termed the cases against Imran Khan as an ‘internal matter of Pakistan’.

He said that the US government urged the Pakistani government to respect human rights and fundamental freedoms.

It is pertinent to mention here that the former prime minister has been behind bars since August 2023 and was later convicted in Toshakhana, Cipher, and cases Iddat.

Imran Khan’s convictions in the Toshakhana and Cipher cases have been suspended while he is still in prison in the Iddat case.

Cipher case

On January 30, a special court hearing cipher case handed a 10-year jail term, each, to former prime minister and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder and former foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi.

Both the PTI leaders were accused of conspiracy to misuse the contents of the cipher to fulfill nefarious purposes.

The court in its verdict said the prosecution had enough evidence to prove the charges against the former prime minister and ex-foreign minister.

The first information report (FIR) was registered on August 15 under the Official Secrets Act. It was registered on the complaint of the Home Secretary.

Toshakhana case

On January 31, an Accountability Court (AC) awarded 14 years each imprisonment to the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder and his wife Bushra Bibi in the Toshakhana case.

The verdict was pronounced by AC Judge Muhammad Bashir. PTI founder and his wife were also disqualified from holding any public office for 10 years. The judge also slapped a fine of Rs787 million.

Iddat case

Imran Khan and Bushra Bibi were accused of marrying within the three-month “iddat period” that follows a divorce.

Imran Khan and his wife, Bushra Bibi awarded 7 years imprisonment in the ‘un-Islamic’ iddat case in February this year.

The court sentenced the PTI founder Imran and Bushra Bibi to 7 years imprisonment and Rs 500,000 fine against each.