![](https://nextpakistan.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Senator-Azam-Nazeer-Tarar.jpg)
- July 2, 2024
- Kainat Shakeel
- 0
On Tuesday, Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar rejected the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention’s recommendations on releasing PTI founder Imran Khan, claiming the former prime minister’s detention was an “internal matter.” In a statement released just now, the working group stated that Imran was politically barred from running for office by his prosecution, detention in the cipher case, and one of the two Toshakhana cases against him, all of which had “no legal basis.” According to the report dated June 18, the government was notified of a message on Imran’s case in November 2023, but neither a response nor a request to extend the deadline for replying had been received.
To “remedy the situation of Mr. Khan without delay and bring it into conformity with the relevant international norms,” the working committee has now asked that the government take the appropriate action. The working group expressed worry about Imran’s detention by law enforcement after they stormed into his home and assaulted him and his workers, adding to the illegality. Imran was found guilty in the first Toshakhana case based on a summary sentence rendered absentia. The working group further stated that, based on the source’s unrebutted statements, Imran’s activities do not seem to have breached the Official Secrets Act, which was reportedly confirmed by the intelligence services, meaning that Imran’s prosecution in the cipher issue “lacks a grounding in law.”
“The working group cannot but observe the coincidence in the timing of the four prosecutions, which effectively prevented Mr. Khan from contesting the general election originally scheduled for November 2023,” the UN group said about his sentences in the second Toshakhana case and the Iddat case. The working group concluded that giving Imran an enforceable right to restitution and other reparations, together with his immediate release, would be the proper course of action. Additionally, it has demanded that the government take necessary action against individuals accountable for Imran’s rights violation and guarantee a thorough and impartial investigation into the circumstances behind his arbitrary deprivation of liberty.
The matter has been forwarded by the working group to the offices of two UN special rapporteurs for suitable action. In response to the report, Tarar said in a statement released today on the PTV official account X: “The arrest of the PTI founder and the pending cases are an internal matter of Pakistan.” He asserted that the courts of the country upheld the Constitution and enforced existing laws after it gained independence. According to Tarar, Imran is presently incarcerated as a convicted prisoner and is entitled to all rights under the national Constitution, laws, and international norms. According to the law minister, Imran was granted relief by the courts in numerous instances, which demonstrated an open and equitable trial process by the judiciary.
He continued by saying that making demands that go beyond the bounds of international conventions, the law, and the Constitution is discriminatory and unfair. For “economic stability,” the PML-N government has already stated that Imran should remain behind bars for the full five-year sentence, which ends in 2029. Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal told reporters last month, “People come to us and tell us if Pakistan has to progress then Imran Khan will have to be kept in jail for five years.” He had warned that there would be fights and sit-ins once more if Imran was released from prison, and the nation could not afford this.
Imran Khan should serve a five-year jail sentence, according to the voice of the people, he had stated. Imran is currently incarcerated at Adiala Jail serving out his sentence related to the Iddat case. Although he was found not guilty in the cipher case, the Islamabad High Court suspended his sentencing in the two Toshakhana cases. Nonetheless, the Islamabad district and sessions court denied the request of the PTI founder and his spouse to suspend their seven-year sentences in the Iddat case last week. The first Toshakhana case claims that Imran, when he was prime minister, “deliberately concealed” information about the presents he kept from the official repository.
In the meantime, a reference has been made against him and his spouse Bushra Bibi for keeping a collection of jewelry that they acquired from the Saudi crown prince despite its apparent undervaluation. The cipher issue concerns a diplomatic document that the charge sheet from the Federal Investigation Agency claims the former prime minister, Imran, never returned. Imran has long maintained that the paper included a threat from the US to overthrow his government. The Iddat lawsuit stems from a complaint that Khawar Fareed Maneka, the ex-husband of Bushra Bibi, filed, claiming that Imran and she entered into a marriage contract during the former first lady’s Iddat period.