Former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party has raised allegations against the Pakistani authorities, claiming that his legal team is being denied access to the imprisoned leader in order to obtain his signatures on crucial court documents.
The accusations come after Khan’s recent arrest and conviction in the Toshakhana corruption case.
Imran Khan was arrested from his Zaman Park residence in Lahore on Saturday following a verdict by an Islamabad trial court that found him guilty of ‘corrupt practices’ related to concealing the sale of state gifts. As a result, he was sentenced to three years of imprisonment and is currently incarcerated at Attock Jail in the Punjab province.
The PTI, in a statement circulated in a WhatsApp group, termed Khan’s arrest as an ‘abduction’, asserting that his legal team has been unable to secure the required signatures on legal documents due to restricted access.
“Chairman’s [Imran Khan] legal team is not being given access to him for getting legal documents signed, as per the prerequisite, despite appeals made to Superintendent Attock Prison & Additional Home Secretary Punjab,” the statement read.
“This doesn’t sound like an arrest at all, it sounds like an abduction,” it added.
Shah Mahmood Qureshi, who is leading the PTI during Imran Khan’s incarceration, encouraged party supporters via a video message to engage in peaceful protests while respecting the law and avoiding damage to state assets.
“Peaceful protest is our right but no state asset is to be damaged. Don’t take the law in your hands,” Qureshi said in the video statement.
A pre-recorded video message from Khan echoed the sentiment, but the response from supporters was notably subdued. While large protests were expected to erupt across the country, as was seen during Imran Khan’s arrest on May 9, only a handful of protesters actually took to the streets.
The PTI’s influence has diminished significantly since the violence that followed Khan’s earlier arrest on May 9. Several key leaders departed or were compelled to leave the party due to their involvement in the protests and subsequent legal actions.
Qureshi has convened a meeting of the PTI core committee to devise a strategy for addressing the former Prime Minister’s conviction. With declining support from the establishment and limited options, the party’s main hopes rest on potential backing from the judiciary and overseas Pakistanis.
Many legal experts have questioned the haste with which the sessions court reached its verdict, especially given that an appeal against disallowing witnesses is pending in the Islamabad High Court. Furthermore, the court’s decision regarding the maintainability of the case was made without hearing PTI lawyers who were absent.
Imran Khan retains the option to challenge the verdict in the high court and subsequently in the Supreme Court. Legal and technical challenges could potentially undermine the sessions court’s decision.
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