• The UN Working Group has called for the immediate release of former Pakistan PM Imran Khan, stating his detention violates international laws.
• Tehreek-e-Insaf and international legal firms have welcomed the UN’s stance, urging the global community to pressure Pakistan’s government to release Khan.
A UN human rights panel has called for the immediate release of former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan, stating he has been detained “arbitrarily in violation of international laws.” Published on Monday, the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention noted that Mr. Khan’s detention had “no legal basis and appears to have been intended to disqualify him from running for office.”
Mr. Khan was ousted from power in 2022 and has been incarcerated since August 2023, facing around 170 criminal charges. He has asserted that the no-confidence vote leading to his removal and the subsequent criminal cases were orchestrated by the country’s powerful military under the influence of the American government to exclude him from power. Pakistan’s new government, its military, and Washington have denied these accusations.
Mr. Khan has been acquitted or granted bail in many serious cases, all of which he contends are politically motivated. His Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party stated last month that he remains in jail due to a ruling declaring his 2018 marriage unIslamic and illegal, describing it as the weakest of all the cases against him.
Mr. Khan was barred from seeking political office, and his party was prohibited from contesting the national election. Despite allegations of rigging in the February election, independent candidates backed by Mr. Khan’s party secured most seats in parliament.
The Working Group indicated that the legal cases against Mr. Khan were part of a “much larger campaign of repression” against him and his party. The panel expressed alarm over “widespread arrest, detention and disappearances of individuals, including many Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf supporters” and urged the authorities “to take swift and appropriate action in this regard.”
Zulfi Bukhari, a spokesperson for Mr. Khan’s party, remarked that “international silence” on his “illegal incarceration” was finally broken. “We welcome the Working Group’s opinion with hope and optimism as we call on the international community to continue holding the government of Pakistan accountable for the inexcusable miscarriage of justice Mr. Khan, his wife, and many PTI members have suffered,” he said in a statement on Monday. “The international condemnation of the manner in which the government of Pakistan illegally stripped Mr. Khan of his freedom and rights has echoed from the US to the UN, with the House of Representatives and now the Working Group highlighting it as a blatant effort to interfere with his intentions to run for political office.”
The Working Group’s report was published in response to a petition by London-based law firm Harbottle & Lewis and Washington-based Perseus Strategies. Sarah Gogan, a partner at Harbottle & Lewis, expressed satisfaction with the Working Group’s report and called for international pressure on the Pakistani government to release Mr. Khan. She said the opinion reflects “the principles of fundamental human rights under the rule of law.” “We hope the international community will use this moment as an opportunity to engage further with the Government of Pakistan and work to secure the release of Mr. Khan.”
