‘Filthy water, not allowed to meet children’: Imran Khan under ‘harshest prison term in Pakistan's history’

Pakistan’s incarcerated former prime minister Imran Khan on Thursday said he is undergoing the “harshest prison term” in the country’s history.

Khan, 72, has been lodged at the Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi since August 2023 in multiple cases.

“I am enduring the harshest prison term in the country’s history solely for the supremacy of the Constitution and in service of my nation,” he was quoted as saying in a post uploaded on his verified X handle.

“The level of oppression and authoritarianism is such that even the water I have for ablution is filthy and contaminated with dirt, unfit for any human being,” Khan alleged.

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The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder alleged the books sent to him by his family have been withheld for months and access to television and newspapers has also been suspended.

“I have spent countless hours re-reading the same old books, but now even those are no longer available,” he said.

Khan asserted that no political leader in Pakistan’s history has faced the kind of treatment he is currently experiencing.

He contrasted this with former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, who, despite being involved in several corruption cases, “was granted every possible comfort” during his imprisonment.

Khan emphasised that his wife, Bushra Bibi, who is “innocent” and not involved in politics, is being subjected to “inhumane conditions” in prison.

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The 72-year-old cricketer-turned-politician further alleged that all his basic human rights have been violated. Even the minimum facilities accorded to ordinary prisoners under the law and the jail manual are denied to him.

“Despite repeated requests, I have not been allowed to speak to my children. Political meetings have also been restricted; I am only permitted to meet certain ‘choice individuals’, while all other interactions are barred,” he said.

Khan appealed to his party members to set aside all internal differences and focus solely on the movement planned for August 5.

The PTI is all set to launch the “Free Imran Khan Movement” from August 5 across the country.

Khan’s sons –Suleman and Kasim — are currently in the US, meeting with the Trump administration and Congressmen as part of efforts to release Khan who has been in jail for the last two years in multiple cases.

“I am waging a battle against a 78-year-old system, and my greatest success is that despite unprecedented oppression, the public stands firmly with me,” Khan said.

He said on February 8, 2024, the people expressed their trust in PTI by voting for it even in the absence of an electoral symbol.

“After such a clear mandate, it is the moral and political responsibility of every party member to become the voice of the people. It will be nothing short of disgraceful and condemnable if PTI leaders waste time on internal conflicts at this critical juncture. Anyone found engaging in factionalism within the party will be expelled,” he said.

Khan said the Shehbaz Sharif-led government has crippled the judiciary and “the way biased judges are now delivering blatantly unjust verdicts” is visible to the entire nation.

“We must launch a robust campaign to liberate the judiciary, for no nation can survive, let alone progress, without judicial independence,” he said.

(This is an agency copy. Except for the headline, the copy has not been edited by Firstpost staff.)