Imran Khan orders to expel absent lawmakers of voting day of 26th constitutional amendment. PHOTO: PIXABAY
ISLAMABAD/RAWALPINDI:
PTI founder Imran Khan struck a defiant tone on Saturday from behind bars, vowing not to budge “even an inch” from his stance and asserting that he was ready either to win freedom for the people or to embrace martyrdom.
The former prime minister, already in incarceration for more than two years, was reacting to 17 years sentence handed down to him and his wife, Bushra Bibi, in the Toshakhana-2 case.
Addressing a press conference at the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa House in Islamabad, PTI Secretary General Salman Akram Raja said that party lawyers had reported the PTI founder was being kept in solitary confinement.
He lamented that a notification for forthcoming trial proceedings barred even family members from the courtroom, while judges were to conduct hearings via video link from a remote location.
Raja said court orders guaranteeing the former premier the right to a fair and open trial were already in place but were not being implemented. He added that meetings scheduled on Tuesdays and Thursdays between the PTI founder and visitors had been suspended.
Rejecting government claims that Imran was being allowed meetings, Raja said the claims were “blatantly false” and said the PTI founder had conveyed that the public would now have to stand up for its rights.
According to Raja, Imran Khan had said that all doors of justice had been shut, his cases were not being heard in courts, and judicial avenues had effectively closed.
He said the PTI founder’s message was that people should now come out on the streets and raise their voices, as there was no option left other than protest. Raja added that Imran Khan had urged the public to step out for their rights and had expressed solidarity with all detainees, particularly women prisoners.
Raja said the incarcerated leader had reiterated that he would not step back from his stance. He added that Imran Khan had a brief meeting with his lawyer Salman Safdar earlier in the day, but neither the PTI founder nor his lawyers were present when the verdict was announced.
He said Imran Khan again declared that he would not retreat “even an inch” and had stated that he would either secure freedom for the people or was ready for martyrdom.
Raja said Imran had directed the party to begin preparations for a street movement, adding that his message was that no options remained.
He also said Imran Khan was distressed over the imprisonment of his wife, claiming Bushra Bibi had been jailed solely because she was his spouse.
‘Imran was smiling’
Meanwhile, senior counsel for Imran Khan and Bushra Bibi, Salman Safdar, said the verdict in the Toshakhana-II case was announced prematurely, even though arguments were scheduled to conclude the following day.
Speaking to the media outside Adiala Jail, Safdar said Imran Khan was not even given three minutes to speak. He said the legal team would continue its work, adding that the judgment appeared to have been written before arguments were completed.
Safdar said Imran Khan was smiling after hearing the verdict and showed no surprise. He said the judge announced the decision and left immediately, adding that while procedural requirements under Article 10-A were cited, the legal requirements of a fair trial were not fulfilled.
