LAHORE:
On the eve of former prime minister Imran Khan completing two years in prison, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has issued a ‘white paper’ alleging systematic political victimisation, legal manipulation, and human rights violations.
The release came ahead of PTI’s planned protests on Tuesday.
Speaking to the media, PTI Punjab Media Cell head Shayan Bashir said, “The protest call for August 5 is for peaceful demonstrations, yet our homes are being raided, our privacy violated. In Lahore alone, over 200 raids have taken place in the past two days.”
He alleged that authorities were using coercive tactics, including arbitrary detentions, extortion, and forced affidavits. “They pick up people, take bribes, or make them sign affidavits before releasing them,” he said.
The 13-page document, spanning August 2023 to the ongoing month, documents what PTI characterises as a relentless campaign of repression. It cites at least 186 criminal cases filed against Khan, secret trials inside jail premises, and what it calls misuse of anti-terror laws to stifle dissent. It also alleges interference in the February 2024 general elections.
The PTI alleged that Khan’s detention conditions amounted to inhumane treatment.