Tag: imran khan

The UN’s report further stated that his detention in these cases was politically motivated to exclude him from competing in the political arena….reports Asian Lite News

The United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention stressed that the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan’s detention and prosecution in the first Toshakhana case and Cipher case were “without legal basis” and were politically motivated, reported Dawn.

The UN’s report further stated that his detention in these cases was politically motivated to exclude him from competing in the political arena.

According to the first Toshakhana case, Imran had “deliberately concealed” details of the gifts he retained from the Toshaskhana, a repository where the gifts handed to government officials from foreign officials are kept, during his time as the prime minister and proceeds from their reported sales.

Meanwhile, the second Toshakhana case concerns a reference against Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi for retaining a jewellery set received from the Saudi crown prince against an undervalued assessment, reported Dawn.

Earlier on August 5 last year, a trial court in Islamabad convicted the PTI founder in the first case filed by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) and jailed him for three years.

He was then arrested by Punjab police later that same day from his Zaman Park residence in Lahore.

Later, the ECP disqualified him for five years following his conviction.

However, the Islamabad High Court later suspended his three-year sentence.

Notably, the UN body had adopted its opinion on the PTI founder’s detention in its 99th session from March 18-27, according to the document posted on June 18, as reported by Dawn.

The report listed many legal inconsistencies and irregularities in the various court proceedings of the PTI founder, adding that it was rendering its opinion on whether Imran Khan’s detention was arbitrary.

It said that based on its source’s detailed and unrebutted submissions regarding the ultra vires nature of the prosecution in the first Toshakhana case, as well as the context of the political repression of Imran and his party in which that prosecution occurred, “the working group concludes that his 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.”

It stressed that how Imran was convicted in the first Toshakhana case (namely, a summary judgment delivered in absentia) and his subsequent arrest by law enforcement personnel who broke into his residence and assaulted him and his staff were concerning and compounded the illegality, reported Dawn.

The working group further said that Imran’s prosecution in the cipher case “lacks a grounding in law, as his actions do not appear to have violated the Official Secrets Act, as was apparently corroborated by the intelligence services, according to the source’s unrebutted submissions”.

Regarding his sentences in the second Toshakhana case and the Iddat case, the UN group stated, “The working group cannot but observe the coincidence in the timing of the four prosecutions, which effectively prevented Mr Khan from contesting the general election originally scheduled for November 2023.”

It further summarised that “noting the convergence of factors that appear to be aimed at removing Mr Khan from contesting the election and restricting his party’s fair participation in the election, and in the absence of any response from the government, the working group finds that, at the very least, Mr Khan’s arrest, detention and prosecution in the first Toshakhana case and the cipher case were without any legal basis and would appear to be politically motivated to exclude his participation in the election.”

The working group noted that in the absence of any rebuttal from the government, “it would appear that the prosecutions brought against Khan are related to his leadership of the PTI and indicate a determination to silence him and his supporters and exclude their political participation,” adding that it was “evident” that the basis of his subsequent arrest and detention was his exercise of freedom of assembly.

Concluding its opinion, the working group said that Imran’s deprivation of liberty was arbitrary and requested the government to take the steps necessary to remedy the PTI founder’s situation without delay and bring it into conformity with the relevant international norms.

“The working group considers that, taking into account all the circumstances of the case, 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, Dawn reported.

“The working group urges the government to ensure a full and independent investigation of the circumstances surrounding the arbitrary deprivation of liberty of Mr Khan and to take appropriate measures against those responsible for the violation of his rights,” the opinion said.

Reacting to the working group’s opinion, the PTI termed it a “huge” development.

Imran is currently incarcerated in the Iddat case at Adiala Jail. His sentences in the two Toshakhana cases were suspended while he was acquitted by the Islamabad High Court in the cipher case, reported Dawn. (ANI)

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Khan, after two years of his government’s ouster, now believes that General Bajwa is solely to be blamed for the entire episode….reports Hamza Ameer

Former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan has come under severe criticism from his political opponents for giving a clean chit to the US and other Western countries on their alleged involvement in the ouster of his government in April 2022 and instead putting the entire blame on friend-turned-foe former Army Chief General (Retd.) Qamar Javed Bajwa.

In an interview with journalist Mehdi Hasan, Khan retracted from his earlier stance where he had slammed the US for orchestrating a regime change in Pakistan and being part of a conspiracy along with Bajwa and opposition political parties to ensure the implementation of a successful Vote of No Confidence (VONC) against him in the Parliament on April 9, 2022.

Khan, after two years of his government’s ouster, now believes that General Bajwa is solely to be blamed for the entire episode.

“After 11 months in prison, I am certain that this ordeal was orchestrated solely by General Bajwa. He meticulously planned and executed this scheme, presenting himself as a deceitful figure, creating lies and false narratives to cause both national and international chaos – all to secure his extension,” the former PM said while responding to written questions sent to him in prison by Hasan.

“I hold no one else responsible,” Khan added.

His comments, however, have not gone down well with several analysts and political leaders in the country.

“Imran Khan is a liar. He carried out a massive public campaign against the US, blaming Washington for ousting his government and gave many reasons why they wanted him out,” said Talal Chaudhry, senior leader of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League–Nawaz (PML-N).

“He had claimed he was ousted for not giving bases to the US forces and for going to Russia. He also claimed that the then US Under Secretary Donald Lu met the Pakistani Ambassador in the US and warned him of the consequences if the vote of no confidence against Khan was unsuccessful. And today, ‘Einstein’ Khan says the US had nothing to do with his ouster. That means his whole campaign after the ouster was based on a fake narrative and lies,” added Chaudhry.

Experts also believe that Khan’s latest statement is part of his political party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) making attempts to normalise ties with the West.

“It is known to all that PTI has hired lobbying companies in the US to activate its contacts with the US government. And that is why Imran Khan is backtracking from his previous claim of US-led regime change. But the fact is that in 2022, Imran Khan addressed over 80 public gatherings on the same narrative. It was the most popular anti-establishment, anti-government and anti-US narrative at the time,” said political analyst Rizwan Razi.

“Khan raised popular slogans like ‘absolutely not’ and ‘are we slaves’ slamming the US and the West for hatching a conspiracy against his government and teaming up with the military establishment and opposition parties to oust his government. He would call the military establishment ‘janwar’ (animals). Back then, it was the popular political narrative because it was useful for his political resistance. Today, he wants the US intervention for his own benefit. How blatantly convenient!” said Razi.

Imran Khan is currently serving a jail term in Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi and is staring at a long legal battle with tonnes of cases piled up against him.

Khan is also among the most popular leaders of Pakistan with a support base spread across the country and abroad, majorly because of his regime change narrative, anti-military stance and refusal to team up with his political opponents, who he claims have taken power through an illegitimate polling process in February, this year by stealing his party’s mandate.

“This government lacks legitimacy,” Khan said, adding that the world should not ignore the struggle for democracy and the “plight” of the people in Pakistan.

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Arif Alvi stressed that ‘real freedom’ can only be achieved through self-respecting leadership that refuses to compromise…reports Asian Lite News

Former President Arif Alvi said on Saturday that Imran Khan, former PM and the founder of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party who is currently detained in Adiala Jail, would prefer to remain behind bars rather than make ‘any deal,’ ARY News reported.

While speaking to lawyers at Sialkot district bar after their meeting with Imran Khan, Alvi stressed that ‘real freedom’ can only be achieved through self-respecting leadership that refuses to compromise.

Further, the former president remarked on his longstanding relationship with Prime Minister Imran Khan, noting that all institutions are currently headed towards a dead end. “When someone reaches a dead end, matters tend to deteriorate,” he added, as per ARY News.

Quoting the deposed premier, the former president said: “There is no way forward without the supremacy of Constitution,” emphasising that dialogue is the only way out.

Earlier, it was reported that Arif Alvi was given an “important responsibility” by party chief Imran Khan to “resolve things” through dialogue.

According to ARY News, this was revealed during a press conference held by PTI leaders, including National Assembly Opposition Leader Omar Ayub, Arif Alvi, and PTI spokesperson Raoof Hasan, outside Adiala jail after their meeting with the ex-PM in the jail.

The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) underwent a significant shift in its stance on engaging in dialogue with the establishment following the press conference by the Director-General (DG) of Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), which called for an apology from the party regarding the events of May 9.

Speaking at ARY News programme ‘Khabar’, PTI leader Asad Qaiser said that his party does not want to engage in talks with anyone, emphasising that it only seeks to uphold “constitutional and legal supremacy.”

The May 9 events refer to violent protests that erupted after PTI founder Imran Khan was arrested from the premises of Islamabad High Court in a corruption case in 2023.

During the protests, alleged PTI supporters caused damage to public and private properties and even targeted military installations in various parts of Pakistan.

‘Agencies must stop interfering in politics’

The PTI core committee has called the recent press conference by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) director general “unconstitutional and illegal,” Pakistan-based Dawn reported. PTI core committee said security agencies should stop the “absurd tradition of interfering in politics”.

According to PTI central media department’s official announcement, the PTI’s top leadership “unanimously rebuffed” the ISPR DG’s demand for an apology. It said that “propaganda” was being conducted against the PTI under the guise of a “false flag operation” on May 9, 2023.

The PTI condemned the government’s action against what it termed “nationwide peaceful protests” against the “May 9 false flag operation” on Thursday, according to Dawn report. Imran Khan-founded party alleged state oppression and fascism was being used to “usurp people’s basic political right to protest.”

The party’s committee criticized the ongoing “politics of revenge” and what it termed “attempts to crush and dismantle” PTI under “the guise of the May 9 false flag operation” and stressed that such actions should be stopped.

They also condemned the alleged interference by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) in the nominations of election tribunal judges by the Lahore High Court chief justice and called it “criminal and totally unacceptable.”

While addressing a news conference on Friday, PTI Secretary General Omar Ayub Khan slammed Punjab police action against “peaceful” protesters of his party on Thursday.

Khan said that the “fascist and mandate-less governments in the Centre and Punjab” were standing on crutches and their days were numbered, Dawn reported. He said the rule of law gets eroded when intelligence agencies meddle in political and judicial affairs.

Last week, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) demanded an independent inquiry after Pakistan’s former caretaker Prime Minister Anwaarul Haq Kakar and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Hanif Abbasi got into a heated exchange, The Express Tribune reported.

A PTI spokesperson said the heated exchange between the two leaders served as an insight to expose the alleged stealing of its electoral malfeasance, according to the report.

After the exchange of words between Kakar and Abbasi, PTI demanded a judicial commission to hold accountable those involved in the wheat import scheme and electoral manipulation.

The spokesperson demanded a thorough investigation to uncover the truth behind the alleged manipulation of election results and the fabrication of Form-47. PTI’s statement came after reports detailed a tense confrontation between Kakar and Abbasi.

During the heated exchange, Kakar purportedly issued a warning, suggesting that revealing certain information about Form-47 could leave the party nowhere to hide, according to The Express Tribune report.

Tensions between the two leaders started over the wheat scandal during a meeting at a private hotel, The Express Tribune reported, citing the sources familiar with the matter. Abbasi allegedly faced criticism for blaming Kakar’s tenure as Pakistan’s Caretaker PM for a wheat scam during a television interview. (ANI)

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Security experts do not agree with the government’s new apparatus and have expressed serious concerns over the negative effects on the citizen’s right to privacy…reports Hamza Ameer

Pakistan government’s decision to form a national agency called the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) has raised concerns in the country with several experts citing that the move would not only gravely affect citizens’ right to privacy but is also aimed at targeting the massive social media presence of jailed ex-PM Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party.

The Establishment Division of the Pakistan government announced the formation of NCCIA with the prime focus on countering propaganda and rumours on social media and safeguarding the digital rights of people.

“There must be an end to harassment, including online,” said Federal Minister for Information and Broadcast Attaullah Tarar on Thursday.

He added that there was an “immediate and dire need” of an authority like NCCIA to address the issue of online harassment and also to protect the digital rights of consumers.

However, security experts do not agree with the government and have expressed serious concerns over the negative effects on the citizen’s right to privacy.

“It raises concerns that go beyond the duplication of efforts and resources, the move may also gravely affect citizen’s right to privacy which seems to have been overlooked in the rush to bolster cyber defences,” said Khawaja Khalid Farooq, former Inspector General of Police and ex-head of National Counter-Terrorism Authority.

Another view states that the military establishment wants to have a strong strategy and authority in place to tackle the anti-establishment campaigns run by PTI through its large presence on social media.

“PTI is the only political party in Pakistan with a very strong social media presence. Its campaigns and social media teams have the strongest influence on the masses through social media engagements,” says senior political analyst Javed Siddique.

“The anti-military sentiments have prevailed and broadly expressed on social media platforms by PTI and Imran Khan’s supporters. NCCIA may be designated and directed to work with prime focus on tackling the dissemination of PTI-led anti-establishment campaigns on social media under the legal cover of the controversial PECA act,” he adds.

It is pertinent to note that formation of NCCIA would render the already-existing Cyber Crime wing of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) as defunct.

As per the notification in the Gazette of Pakistan, the formation of NCCIA has been formed under Section 51 of the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act 2016 (PECA). The notification also mentioned that NCCIA would take over the cyber crime investigations of the FIA Cyber Crime Wing in December 2024, adding that FIA would now cease to perform functions as designated agency under the act.

“The NCCIA will be headed by a Director General, chosen by the federal government to serve a two-year term. The NCCIA chief would exercise the powers of an Inspector General of Police while the agency’s affairs related to the federal government’s business would be allocated to the Interior Division,” the Gazette of Pakistan notification maintained.

Experts, however, believe that the formation of NCCIA is irrelevant because FIA cyber crime wing has got the framework, requisite capabilities and is equipped to deal with cyber threats.

“Creating the NCCIA to replace the FIA’s cyber crime wing could result in an overlap of responsibilities, leading to bureaucratic inefficiencies and confusion,” said Farooq.

“There is a risk that the pursuit of cyber security, privacy rights could be compromised without stringent checks and balances in place,” he added.

Another view states that the military establishment wants to have a strong strategy and authority in place to tackle the strong social media presence of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) that targets the military establishment.

“PTI is the only political party in Pakistan with a very strong social media presence. Its campaigns and social media teams have the strongest influence on the masses through social media engagements. The anti-military sentiments have prevailed and broadly expressed on social media platforms by PTI and Imran Khan’s supporters. NCCIA may be designated and directed to work with prime focus on tackling the dissemination of PTI led anti-establishment campaigns on social media under the legal cover of the controversial PECA act,” said senior political analyst Javed Siddique.

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Imran Khan alleged that Pakistan’s powerful military leadership could make an attempt to eliminate him…reports Hamza Ameer

Former Pakistan Prime Minister and chief of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, Imran Khan has said that the country’s Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Syed Asim Munir should be held directly responsible if anything happens to him or his wife.

In an article written from the Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi, Khan alleged that Pakistan’s powerful military leadership could make an attempt to eliminate him.

Serving a jail term in various cases of corruption, incitement to violence and matters of national security, Khan alleged in his piece written for the UK’s Telegraph that all the charges levelled against him are politically motivated.

“All that is left for them now is to murder me,” he wrote.

Khan wrote that Pakistan has become a “laughing stock” in front of the whole world after conducting flawed elections on February 8. He also mentioned that the 240 million people of the country are angry over the way their voices and support, broadly represented through the power of vote, has been ridiculed.

“The people have shown in no uncertain terms their rejection of state electoral machinations and of the oppression, incarceration and torture of not just the PTI leadership but also of its workers,” he wrote.

“The military leadership has been subjected to overt criticism at a level unseen before in our history. The government is a laughing stock,” he added.

Slamming Pakistan’s military establishment, he stated specifically that the Army Chief General Asim Munir is doing everything to keep him out of politics.

“The establishment has done all they could against me. All that is left for them is to now murder me. I have stated publicly that if anything happens to me or my wife, the Chief of Army Staff Gen Asim Munir will be responsible,” he wrote.

“But I am not afraid because my faith is strong. I would prefer death over slavery,” he added.

Khan said that the only way to get Pakistan out of the current crisis is “to restore the people’s mandate and release all political prisoners including those being held for trial under military courts”.

Khan’s opinion piece has again established his strong and rigid opposition against the military establishment, especially against the current Army Chief General Asim Munir.

It is also a fact that the former PM was not in favor of the appointment of General Munir as the country’s army chief and launched a long march from Lahore to Rawalpindi, smartly delaying it to assert political and public pressure while blocking Munir’s appointment.

He has also blamed the previous military chief General (Retd) Qamar Javed Bajwa for facilitating his government’s opposition alliance, which led to his ouster through a Vote of No Confidence (VONC). Since then, Pakistan’s political outlook has been in shambles with ongoing protests, rallies and campaigns being launched by PTI against the military establishment and the ruling governments.

Last May, the PTI workers stormed military installations in Rawalpindi, Lahore, Karachi and other parts of the country, in protest against the arrest of their leader.

The authorities also launched a similar crackdown against the PTI workers and leaders, blocking their election campaigns during the February 2024 elections, paving the way for Shehbaz Sharif, leader of Pakistan Muslim League–Nawaz (PML-N) to become the country’s Prime Minister.

Khan is serving a jail term of three years in a corruption case and a 14-year term for the Toshakhana case besides an additional 10-year jail term for revealing state secrets.

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