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 has been behind bars since 9th May 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.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan