Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party calls for immediate release of Imran Khan amid controversy

The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party has denounced the continued detention of its founding chairman and former Pakistan prime minister, Imran Khan, in multiple cases it deems “fabricated.” The demand for his immediate release was voiced at a core committee meeting of the party held on Thursday.

Participants discussed a variety of issues, including the prolonged wait on appeals against Khan’s cases, the security risks faced by his wife, Bushra Bibi, and the recounting of votes in multiple Punjab constituencies.

The party's legal team presented a detailed overview of Khan’s cases during the meeting. The forum strongly condemned the incarceration of the 71-year-old former cricketer and politician.

The committee members criticized the quick trials and speedy convictions in cases like the Toshakhana corruption case and the cipher case. Both cases led to multiple-year sentences for Khan and his wife, Bushra, indicating, according to the committee, a clear political vendetta against them.

Khan is currently held at the high-security Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi, while Bushra, 49, is confined to their Bani Gala residence.

The PTI core committee criticized delay tactics used in the appeal process and called for all cases against Khan to be dismissed and him to be released without delay.

The committee expressed serious concerns about Bushra’s health and safety, condemning her unwilling confinement in a sub-jail. They urged for foolproof security and immediate redressal of threats to her life.

The recounting of votes in several Punjab constituencies was declared unconstitutional by the forum. They claimed that PTI’s constitutional seats, post February 8, were being illicitly transferred to PML-N via "unconstitutional" vote recounts.

In the cipher case, Khan, along with ex-foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, was sentenced to a decade-long imprisonment in January. The case was based on Khan's revelation of a diplomatic cable, which he claimed was proof of an "international conspiracy" against his government during a public rally in March 2022.

With inputs from PTI