Pakistan: Imran Khan's sisters, PTI workers hold sit-in protest
Islamabad, Dec 23 : Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan's sister Aleema Khan and PTI workers held a sit-in at Factory Naka in Rawalpindi on Tuesday as they were stopped from moving towards Adiala Jail to meet incarcerated former PM, local media reported.
Over the past several weeks, Imran Khan's family, PTI members and lawyers have not been allowed to meet him in prison, resulting in party leaders holding sit-ins outside the prison every Tuesday and Thursday, as the court has mandated these two days for meeting PTI founder, Pakistan's leading daily Dawn reported.
A PTI livestream showed PTI supporters marching towards the prison on Adiala Road before being stopped outside a riot fence. As the PTI supporters gathered near the prison complex on Tuesday, Aleema Khan said that Imran Khan was being kept in "solitary confinement", stressing that the "government had become so fearful of Imran’s message that they had resorted to breaking the law" in a reference to the police presence at the site.
Speaking to reporters, Aleema Khan said that the authorities have kept Imran Khan in prison as they are afraid of him. Meanwhile, PTI Secretary General Salman Akram Raja said that PTI's struggle is a national one for democracy and judicial independence. He termed cases against Imran Khan "false" and punishments "unlawful and wrong."
In a video shared by PTI Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on X, Aleema Khan said, "Spray the water, fire the bullets, we are sitting here for our rights. Imran Khan's imprisonment and isolation are not acceptable to us."
Imran Khan, who has been in prison since August 23, is serving a 14-year jail sentence at the Adiala jail in a £190 million corruption case and faces pending trials under the Anti-Terrorism Act linked to the protests of May 9, 2023. Imran Khan's wife Bushra Bibi is also serving a seven-year sentence in £190 million corruption case.
Last week, Imran Khan issued a call for nationwide protest and announced his intention to challenge the court's decision in the Toshakhana-II case in the Islamabad High Court, Dawn reported.
His statement on Saturday came after a Pakistani court sentenced Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi to 17 years in prison in connection with the Toshakhana -II case.
The Toshakhana-2 corruption case involves the purchase of an expensive jewellery set, gifted to Imran Khand by the Saudi Crown Prince during an official visit in May 2021, at a nominal price.
The verdict was pronounced by Judge Central Shahrukh Arjumand of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA)'s special court during proceedings conducted at Rawalpindi's Adiala jail, where Imran Khan is imprisoned.
Under the ruling, Imran Khan was sentenced to a total of 17 years in prison, receiving 10 years of rigorous imprisonment under several sections of the Pakistan Penal Code, and seven years under the Prevention of Corruption Act.