Tehreek-e-Insaf seeks end to Imran Khan's 'solitary confinement' after UN rapporteur's report

Islamabad [Pakistan], December 15 : Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has voiced serious concern over a report by United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture, Alice Jill Edwards, alleging that party founder and former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan is being subjected to degrading and inhuman treatment during his incarceration at Adiala Jail, Dawn reported.

According to a statement issued by the party's Central Media Department on Saturday, the UN report had validated the party's longstanding stance that Imran Khan was being treated in an "inhuman, unlawful and degrading manner" driven by political victimisation, as reported by Dawn.

The report, released on Friday, warned that the conditions of his detention could amount to inhuman or degrading treatment and urged Pakistani authorities to adhere to international standards and norms.

PTI claimed that the report highlighted Imran Khan's prolonged solitary confinement of up to 23 hours a day, continuous CCTV surveillance, isolation from the outside world, hurdles in meeting legal counsel and family members, restrictions on religious practices, and denial of basic necessities. The party termed these conditions a clear violation of prison rules and international human rights law.

Citing UN standards, PTI said solitary confinement beyond 15 days constitutes psychological torture, adding that Imran Khan has allegedly been kept under such conditions for several months, Dawn reported.

The party further stated that subjecting a 72-year-old with serious medical issues, including a spinal injury and wounds from a previous assassination attempt, to such treatment while denying proper medical care amounted to deliberate cruelty, as reported by Dawn.

PTI demanded an immediate end to solitary confinement, detention conditions in line with human dignity and international norms, unhindered access to personal doctors, and the removal of obstacles to meetings with lawyers and family members in compliance with court orders.

"This issue has gone beyond politics and has become a test of Pakistan's commitment to law, justice and human rights," the statement said, as quoted by Dawn, warning that continuation of such treatment would be seen as state-sponsored violence.

Meanwhile, Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif's aide Rana Ihsan Afzal rejected the UN rapporteur's findings, asserting that Imran Khan is being treated strictly in accordance with prison rules and the jail manual.

He said there were no restrictions on communication with his children, provided formal requests were made, Dawn reported.

Imran Khan has been in jail since August 2023, serving a sentence in the EUR 190 million corruption case, and is also facing trials under the Anti-Terrorism Act related to the May 9, 2023, protests.

PTI has frequently raised concerns about Imran Khan's and his wife's health. His son, Kasim Khan, had earlier expressed fears that authorities might be concealing serious information about his father's condition.

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