By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s jailed former prime minister Imran Khan has said he is being held in solitary confinement akin to a terrorist, but the government insists he is being treated to a “presidential suite” enjoying “royal treatment” in prison, sparking a war of words over his detention conditions.
“I am confined in a 7ft by 8ft death cell, typically reserved for terrorists to ensure they have no contact with anyone,” Khan told The Sunday Times. “It is solitary confinement with barely any space to move. I am under constant surveillance by the agencies, being recorded 24/7, and I am denied basic prisoner and human rights such as visitation.”
The interview was conducted via Khan’s lawyers because he is not allowed pencil and paper.
Khan, 71, has been in a maximum-security prison for almost a year, convicted on three charges – corruption for allegedly selling state gifts, treason for leaking state documents, and illegal and un-Islamic marriage.
The government on Sunday, however, hit back at Khan’s claims, saying he was enjoying “royal treatment” in Rawalpindi’s Adiala Jail.
“This convicted person lives in a presidential suite. He has an exercise cycle, a walking gallery, and a kitchen at his disposal, and is given a lavish menu of what he wants to eat in the day,” Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said.
“He holds three meetings every week with his lawyers, friends, family and political leaders in the ‘presidential suite’ that has been created for him,” the minister said. “We have never believed in political victimisation and nor have we ever done it.”
A UN working group on human rights has declared his incarceration arbitrary and in violation of international law, demanding his immediate release.
Recent judgments in Pakistan have ruled in Khan’s favor. In June, the so-called Cipher Case – for leaking state secrets – was overturned, as was, on July 13, his convictions for illegal marriage and for selling state gifts such as jewelry from the Saudi crown prince.
Khan was, however, denied bail by a Lahore court over accusations that he had incited his supporters to riot in May last year after being pushed from power. Protesters stormed the home of the local army commander and stole white peacocks from his garden.
“The election results and the voter turnout were nothing short of a soft revolution that took place under a martial law environment,” Khan said. “People voted for me because they are fed up with the current system and how Pakistan is being run.”
Khan’s party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), won more seats than any other in elections in February, despite what Khan called “unprecedented pre-poll rigging”, including his imprisonment along with that of many of his key lieutenants and the banning of his party symbol, the cricket bat.
The government has recently threatened to ban the PTI permanently.
Khan said: “These games are being played to break me and my party, but by the grace of the Almighty, nothing has or will succeed.”
Khan is keeping his morale high by keeping fit whenever possible. “I engage in whatever physical exercises I can and read extensively,” he said.
He insists he will be back. “I spend most of my time planning for the future,” he said. “Despite being caged, the entire country looks to me for hope and resilience. Most importantly, my prayers keep me steadfast, my belief in God assures me that justice will prevail over tyranny.”
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