ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (Web Desk) – Human Rights Watch has urged Pakistan’s government to exercise restraint and respect human rights and the rule of law, urging it to put an end to arbitrary arrests of political activists and peaceful protesters in the aftermath of attacks on army installations following the arrest of PTI chairman on May 9.
HRW Associate Asia Director Patricia Gossman referred to the widespread detention of PTI supporters in connection with disturbances, stating that over 4,000 individuals had been imprisoned, with many being accused “under vague and overbroad laws prohibiting rioting and creating threats to public order.”
In the midst of the continuing crackdown on PTI supporters, Human Rights Watch stated Pakistani authorities should free all people jailed for peaceful protest or political opposition support, as well as respect the due process rights of all those detained.
Ms Gossman said that anybody who engages in violence should be adequately prosecuted and their due process rights upheld, and that the core protections of peaceful protest and due process should not be victims of Pakistan’s political struggle.
IMRAN SAYS HE’S READY FOR ‘MINUS-ONE’ IF TOLD OF THE BENEFIT
PTI Chief Imran Khan said on Saturday that he is willing to be removed from politics if he is informed of the benefits to the nation.
He inquired, through video connection, what value there was in postponing elections. “Hold free and fair elections, and then the nation will start fighting back against the quagmire it has been in,” he continued.
He slammed interim administrations in Punjab and KP, saying they were illegitimate and that they failed to declare elections in both provinces within 90 days after dissolution of parliament. “Every order issued by them is illegal,” he went on to say.
He went on to remark that the federal government planned to have NA elections in September, which was their prerogative. “It is our right to demand elections in two provinces,” he said.
What might talks have gotten us? he wondered. “They want to hold elections after they are sure that the PTI has been pressed,” he continued. “We’ve passed the point of no return,” he lamented. He said that they were ruining the whole nation in order to crush a political party.
Mr Khan said that he informed Pakistan’s Chief Justice, Umar Ata Bandial, in no uncertain terms that he strongly denounced all forms of violence.
He went on to claim that it was also misinformation that he did not denounce the May 9 violence, and that he told CJP Bandial that he never permitted his followers to do anything other than demonstrate peacefully. “It was a planned conspiracy to ban the PTI,” he said.
The PTI leader said that PTI followers, members, and office holders had been imprisoned. “Whoever is outside has gone underground because authorities are conducting raids on their homes,” he said.
Mr Khan said that the PTI was having difficulty getting information from the government about what was going on, and that 25 unarmed PTI members had been slain. “It is not legal to assault protesters,” he stressed.
He said that geofencing just revealed where a person was, and he questioned how it could detect whether they were participating in the May 9 assaults. “If they were, the PTI condemns it the most,” he said.
IMRAN CALLS WATERS, VOICES CONCERNED ABOUT HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS
In yet another recording that has gone viral, PTI head Imran Khan can be heard pushing US Congresswoman Maxine Moore Waters to express concern about violations of human rights and the rule of law in Pakistan.
The purported audio leak of the Zoom meeting on Saturday comes at a time when PTI supremo Imran Khan and the government are at odds over a number of topics, including the unrest that occurred after Mr Khan’s incarceration in a fraud case. The PDM-led government has constituted a bench to investigate audio leaks under the supervision of Supreme Court judge Justice Qazi Faez Isa.
Mr Khan can be heard in the clip pleading with Ms Waters to speak out about human rights violations in Pakistan. He informed her about the assassination attempt, the country’s “best economic indicators” during his term, and “unprecedented” human rights atrocities done by the current leadership.
“It makes a lot of waves in our country when someone like Maxine makes a statement,” he told Ms Waters.