By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: The opposition Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party voiced deep alarm on Sunday over a United Nations report that accused authorities of subjecting former prime minister Imran Khan to conditions in prison that could amount to “inhuman or degrading treatment,” calling it evidence of a politically motivated vendetta and demanding immediate reforms to his detention.
The report, issued on Friday by Alice Jill Edwards, the United Nations special rapporteur on torture, urged Pakistani authorities to adhere to global standards in their handling of Khan, who has been held at Adiala Jail since August 2023.
In a statement from the party’s central media department, the PTI said the findings validated its longstanding assertions that Khan was enduring “inhuman, unlawful, and degrading treatment motivated entirely by political vendetta.” The party highlighted elements from the report that it said confirmed Khan’s 23 hours of solitary confinement each day, relentless surveillance by closed-circuit television, severance from external contact, impediments to consultations with lawyers and family members, restrictions on religious observance, and the withholding of essential needs. These practices, the statement argued, violated both domestic prison regulations and international human rights obligations.
“According to the United Nations, solitary confinement exceeding 15 days falls under the category of psychological torture, while Imran Khan has been subjected to this agonising process for months,” the party said. It further contended that imposing such conditions on a 72-year-old man with significant health issues, including a spinal injury and scars from an earlier assassination attempt, while refusing proper medical attention, represented “deliberate and calculated cruelty.”
The party called for an end to the solitary confinement, the establishment of humane detention arrangements in line with international norms, unfettered access to his chosen doctors, and the elimination of any restrictions on meetings as mandated by court rulings. “This matter is no longer just about a political prisoner but has become a test of the credibility of law, justice, and human rights in Pakistan,” the statement said. “If the treatment being meted out to Imran Khan is not stopped, it will be considered the worst example of state-sponsored violence.”
The government’s response was swift and dismissive. Rana Ihsan Afzal, an aide to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, rejected the rapporteur’s conclusions, maintaining that Khan was being managed in accordance with established prison protocols. “His children have access, and he should schedule [a call] and put in the appropriate request,” Afzal said. “There is no issue or obstacle from the government of Pakistan.”
He said Khan, classified as a B-class prisoner, was receiving accommodations beyond his entitlements. “He has the facilities of exercise available, good food is available, and ample space is also available,” Afzal added.
Khan’s imprisonment stems from a conviction in a corruption case involving £190 million, for which he is serving time at Adiala Jail. He also confronts ongoing proceedings under the Anti-Terrorism Act linked to unrest on May 9, 2023. Concerns about Khan’s well-being have persisted, amplified by his party and family. In a Dec. 1 interview, his son Kasim Khan voiced apprehension that officials might be hiding “something irreversible” regarding his father’s health. But Uzma Khanum, Khan’s sister, offered a contrasting view after visiting him on Dec. 2.
Speaking briefly to reporters afterward, she said: “Imran Khan’s health is perfectly fine. However, he was very angry and said that they are subjecting him to mental torture.” She described his routine as one of near-constant cell confinement, with only brief periods outdoors. Khanum noted that he lacked communication with others and that their encounter lasted about 30 minutes.
Khan, ousted from office in 2022 through a parliamentary no-confidence vote, has repeatedly claimed his legal troubles are politically engineered, a charge denied by the current administration. PTI, which governed from 2018 to 2022 under Khan, has mounted protests and legal challenges against his detention, framing it as an assault on democratic principles.
Meanwhile, the chief minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province urged supporters of PTI on Sunday to prepare for potential protests, declaring that they would collectively seize “true freedom” from the country’s current rulers if a call to action came.
Sohail Afridi, speaking at a party rally in the southern district of the province, invoked a message from the party’s incarcerated founder, who he said had declared from jail that the choice was “freedom or death.” “So if we go this time around, we will either return in shrouds or after getting freedom,” Afridi told the crowd.
The remarks underscored the deepening tensions between the PTI and the federal government led by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz party, amid ongoing disputes over Khan’s imprisonment and allegations of electoral fraud in last year’s national elections.
Afridi emphasised that decision-making authority on negotiations with the government or launching protests had been entrusted to two key allies: Mehmood Khan Achakzai, chairman of the Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party, and Senator Allama Raja Nasir Abbas. Both are part of the Tehreek-i-Tahafuz Ayeen-i-Pakistan, an opposition alliance that includes the PTI and has nominated them as opposition leaders in the National Assembly and Senate. “For my part,” Afridi said, “I met them and assured them of any kind of support.” “So whenever a call comes from them, you have to be ready. And we will together seize Haqiqi Azadi from them,” using the Urdu phrase for “true freedom” to refer to liberation from the ruling authorities.
In a broad critique of state institutions, Afridi accused them of seeking to dismantle the PTI. “All institutions and the government want to eliminate the PTI,” he said, adding that even the judiciary had ignored the party’s complaints. Without naming specific figures, he continued: “Those supposed to protect us turn into our killers, and those raised to protect our mandate, stole it. Tell me then, what solution do we have?”
Afridi also rebuffed recent comments from Punjab’s chief minister, Maryam Nawaz, a daughter of former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. He said Nawaz had been offering him unsolicited advice but should instead address issues in her own province, where a recent survey had identified the police as the most corrupt department in the country. “I will listen to them now?” Afridi remarked. “Our leader is Imran, and we will listen to only him. There will be only Imran’s policy and rule here.”
Shifting to local governance, Afridi encouraged residents to report corruption to authorities, promising that his administration would act on complaints. He directed divisional and district officials to keep their offices open to public concerns.
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