Imran Khan’s first interaction with lawyers in jail, signs power of attorney
PTI moves Supreme Court against Toshakhana verdict,
Islamabad(AFP/Webdesk/Sttaf Reporter)_Former Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan was in good spirits despite tough conditions in jail, his spokesman said Monday, following a graft conviction that has ruled him out of contesting elections due later this year.
The former international cricket star was arrested Saturday and whisked to prison after being found guilty in one of the more than 200 cases he has faced since being booted from office by a vote of no confidence in April 2022.
There were small, scattered protests — including outside Lahore High Court, where a few dozen people gathered — but Khan’s street power has drastically diminished since authorities cracked down three months ago and rounded up thousands of his supporters.
A lawyer met Khan on Monday at a century-old jail on the outskirts of historical Attock city, around 60 kilometres (40 miles) west of the capital, to obtain power of attorney so his team could press ahead with a series of legal challenges.
“He is being held in deplorable conditions not fit for any human, but he is in good spirits,” Khan’s spokesman Raoof Hasan told AFP.
“He said to ‘tell the people that I will not compromise on my principles’.”
The 70-year-old is being held in a so-called “C-class cell”, sleeping on a mattress on the floor and with only enough room for a prayer mat. There is little access to daylight, and a fan but no air conditioner in the summer heat, Hasan said.
PTI Chairman Imran Khan has held his first meeting in the Attock jail since being arrested in the Toshakhana criminal case.
Imran Khan also signed his power of attorney, as he held a meeting with his legal team in the jail superintendent’s room.
Talking to the media outside the jail, Imran Khan’s lawyers said he was being kept in solitary confinement and not being offered any facility.
He is even having trouble with offering prayers.“At night, rainwater as well as insects entered Imran Khan’s cell,” they added.He is having a lot of difficulty, the lawyers said, adding that he is also being fed the district jail’s daal roti.
They urged that Imran Khan’s wife Bushra Bibi should be allowed to meet him. Naeem Haider Panjutha claimed that Imran was ready to face even D-class in prison. Panjutha alleged that he was only allowed to meet Imran Khan in the office of the deputy superintendent of the jail, when much of the time was ‘wasted’. “I met with Imran Khan at 1:30pm and only then he signed on the power of attorney.”
It is pertinent to note that it was the first meeting of Imran Khan’s lawyers with PTI supremo in jail after he was arrested from Zaman Park after a brief conversation with the Punjab Police, in Toshakahana criminal case.
He claimed that PTI chairman was in solitary confinement in jail and no ‘facility’ was being provided to Imran Khan. Lawyers were able to gain power of attorney from Khan, allowing them to file a bail application on his behalf and also appeal for him to be moved into an “A-class cell”.
“We’re hopeful that we will be able to secure bail and the decision will be suspended and the disqualification revoked,” said Hasan.
While,
The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf approached the Supreme Court on Monday to declare Additional District and Sessions Judge (ADSJ) Humayun Dilawar’s judgement in Toshakhana case “null and void”.
According to the petition filed by the PTI in accordance with Article 184(2) of the Constitution, the PTI chief wasn’t granted a fair trial hence the Toshakhana case should be reheard.
“A fundamental right under Article 10A, The Right to a Fair Trial, has been denied to PTI chairman in relation to his conviction in the Toshakhana case,” the petition read.
The PTI chief was detained and sent to Attock jail on August 5 after being found guilty by a district and sessions court in Toshakhana case.
ADSJ Dilawar issued an arrest warrant for Khan and sentenced him to three years in prison and imposed a Rs100,000 fine.
The PTI claimed that the ruling was rendered hastily, in PTI’s chief absence and “in complete disregard” of the Islamabad High Court’s (IHC) orders.
“The maintainability question was expressly referred back to the learned additional sessions judge in that decision of the honourable Islamabad High Court dated Aug 4 with instructions to resolve it again.
“However, undermining this directive, the learned judge bypassed any fresh decision-making and dismissed the application in violating haste and without objective evaluation of the case, subverting principles of natural justice,” the petition read.
Earlier today, the party also approached the IHC petitioning that Khan be moved to Adiala jail and be provided better or A-Class facilities, since he was “accustomed to a better mode of life.”
Comments are closed, but trackbacks and pingbacks are open.