Imran Khan’s party has voiced concern over the health and safety of the former Pakistan prime minister in jail and firmly opposed the decision to subject him to “harsh solitary confinement”, according to a media report on Monday.
The core committee of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), under the leadership of party Vice Chairman Shah Mahmood Qureshi, held a crucial meeting on Sunday.
Khan, 70, was arrested from his home in Lahore on Saturday shortly after an Islamabad trial court found him guilty of “corrupt practices” in the Toshakhana corruption case and sentenced him to three years in jail.
Khan’s party earlier on Sunday accused authorities of denying his legal team access to the leader to get his signatures on essential documents for court purposes.
During the core committee’s meeting, the party vehemently criticised the government’s imposition of Section 144, which it said infringed upon the public’s fundamental right to peacefully protest “against cruelty and injustice”, The Express Tribune newspaper reported.
The committee addressed the growing concerns over life and health threats. The meeting held in-depth deliberations on critical issues, including the former prime minister’s arrest by the Punjab Police instead of the Islamabad Police despite the court’s orders to the capital police chief to arrest him.
Similarly, the members also raised alarm over Khan’s transfer to the Attock Jail instead of Rawalpindi’s Adiala Jail. The meeting expressed the conditions of his solitary confinement and the denial of access to lawyers and family members and explored the legal strategy for his prompt release.
It was the second meeting of the core committee held after Khan’s arrest, which saw protests and strong condemnations from the legal fraternity as well as Khan’s supporters who saw the trial as “biased” for its hurried proceedings.
