Imran Khan exhorts Pakistan's judiciary to take stand against victimisation of PTI members

Pakistan’s former prime minister Imran Khan on Friday appealed to the judiciary to take a stand against the alleged violation of the people's fundamental rights and victimisation of members of the country's largest political party after a senior leader from his party was whisked away from a high-security jail by "unknown men".

Taking to Twitter, Khan, also the chief of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, said, "Removal of Shehryar Afridi (senior PTI leader) from Adiala Jail, the day before yesterday by unknown men (a reference to intelligence agencies) is completely illegal & shows the sheer lawlessness and high-handedness in the country." "I urge our judiciary to take a stand and stop this complete violation of our fundamental rights and blatant victimisation of members of Pakistan's largest political party," Khan tweeted.

Afridi, 52, has served as the Minister of State for Interior from August 2018 to April 2019.

Khan also sees the resurgence of the 'cipher controversy' (in which he had accused the US of toppling his government) as a bid to disqualify him from contesting upcoming general elections.

On Thursday, Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah warned Khan that he might be arrested if he fails to cooperate with the investigation into the leaking of national secrets in what has widely come to be known as the ‘cipher case.’ As highlighted by Shehryar's lawyer, the sole purpose of putting him through this torture and persecution is to coerce him into recording a 164 CrPc statement against him (Khan), the 70-year-old cricketer-turned-politician said.

Khan is reportedly under a 'virtual house arrest' and no PTI leader or worker is allowed to see him at his Zaman Park residence in Lahore.

Khan also chided the government over the arrest of over 10,000 PTI workers in the wake of the attack on military installations and state buildings in reaction to his arrest linked to a corruption case on May 9.

He said there is a law of the jungle in the country as his party leaders are re-arrested in phoney cases after securing bail from courts.

"The silence of the human rights organisations and our journalist community is shocking...," Khan tweeted.

Addressing the nation through YouTube on Thursday night, Khan again accused Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Pakistan Peoples Party de facto head Asif Ali Zardari and former army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa of hatching a conspiracy to remove him from the office of prime minister in April 2022 through a no-confidence motion.

"The PMLN-led coalition government and its handlers have only a one-point agenda -- disqualify me and send me to jail. To execute their plan, they have now brought forward the US cipher issue," he said and demanded a detailed inquiry into the US 'cipher conspiracy' as the Federal Investigation Agency is not competent enough to conduct the probe.

“The nation must know about the real players behind the conspiracy,” Khan said.

Khan was removed from office through a no-confidence vote, becoming the first premier in Pakistan's history to be sent home after losing the trust of the National Assembly.

Khan has repeatedly alleged that the US orchestrated a plan to remove him from office for visiting Russia and meeting President Vladimir Putin.

He also brandished the cypher (diplomatic cable) at a public rally to back his claims. The US has time and again denied Khan's allegations, terming them "categorically false".

Imran Khan travelled to Moscow in February last year and met President Putin on the eve of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.