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ISLAMABAD:
PTI has termed the report issued by UN Special Rapporteur on Torture Alice Jill Edwards regarding the imprisonment of former Prime Minister Imran Khan in Adiala Jail as “extremely serious, alarming and eye-opening”.
In a statement shared on X Sunday, the party said the UN report confirmed what the PTI had been highlighting for a long time: that Imran Khan is being subjected to inhumane, illegal and humiliating imprisonment on the grounds of political victimisation.
“Twenty-three hours of solitary confinement, continuous camera surveillance, complete isolation from the outside world, obstacles to meetings with lawyers and family members, deprivation of religious practices and denial of basic human necessities constitute a clear violation not only of prison rules, but also of international human rights standards,” it said.
According to the UN, the party said, solitary confinement for more than 15 days falls under the category of psychological torture, while Imran Khan has been subjected to this painful practice for months. “To deny a 72-year-old prisoner suffering from serious medical conditions, a spinal cord injury and wounds from an attempted murder, adequate medical facilities amounts to deliberate cruelty.”
The PTI demanded that Imran’s solitary confinement be ended immediately, that facilities in the prison be brought in line with human dignity and international standards, that personal doctors be given immediate access and that obstacles to meetings be removed, according to court orders.
“This case is no longer just about a political prisoner; it has become a test of the credibility of law, justice and human rights in Pakistan. If the treatment meted out to Imran Khan is not stopped, it will be considered one of the worst examples of state-level torture,” it said.
In a statement, Alice Jill Edwards warned on Friday that PTI founder Imran Khan was being held in conditions that could amount to torture and other inhuman or degrading treatment.
