.
It was a happening day for former prime minister Imran Khan as his plight resonated in the British parliament. Legislators called for due medical treatment as well as a fair trial for the jailed leader. The House of Commons also called upon the British government to “scrutinise” the issue and to “intensify diplomatic engagement with Islamabad and consider linking aid and trade to human rights benchmarks”.
While acknowledging that Pakistan’s judicial processes are an internal issue, the peers across the party lines pressed for “respecting fundamental freedoms, including the right to a fair trial for all including Imran Khan…” They urged the British foreign minister to “step up” to what has caused “an international outrage”. This move coincides with the concern expressed by 14 former cricket captains, in an open letter, demanding better treatment for the former skipper, in accordance with his stature as “a national leader and global sporting icon”.
As a mark of consolation, however, the Islamabad High Court has, after a long hiatus, fixed for hearing this month petitions by Imran Khan and his spouse Bushra Bibi seeking suspension of sentences in the Al-Qadir Trust and Toshakhana cases. This has surely come as a relief after hectic persuasion from the lawyers of the incarcerated couple, as a divisive and clueless PTI is seen engaged in internal bickering and blame-game.
Khan’s sisters, the other day, charge-sheeted the who’s who of the party, including its chairman Barrister Ali Gohar, for inaction and being “oblivious” to PTI founder’s deteriorating eye infection. A lackluster attitude from PTI lawmakers is proving to be one of the main predicaments in charting a way out of the mess.
The bad press that the government is getting abroad, coupled with unrest at home, necessitates a lawful solution. The way forward is to let the courts dispense justice in real time. A huddle of all political forces for soliciting a grand consensus in the larger national interest is indispensable. Let the soaring political mercury come down for ushering in political stability.
