Pakistan: Former PM Imran Khan's party accuses authorities of denying access

Imprisoned former Prime Minister Imran Khans Pakistan TehreekeInsaf party on Sunday accused authorities of denying his legal team access to the leader to get his signatures on essential documents for court purposes reportedKhan 70 was arrested from his home in Lahore on Saturday shortly after an Islamabad trial court found him guilty of corrupt practices in the Toshakhana corruption case and sentenced him to three years imprisonmentKhan the chairman of the Pakistan TehreekeInsaf PTI party is lodged in the Attock Jail after being sentenced for concealing the sale of state gifts The case was adjudicated by a sessions court in IslamabadThe PTI in a statement shared on a WhatsApp group termed Khans arrest as an abductionThe Chairmans legal team is not being given access to him for getting legal documents signed as per the prerequisite despite appeals made to Superintendent Attock Prison amp Additional Home Secretary Punjab it saidThis doesnt sound like an arrest at all it sounds like an abductionAfter his arrest Khan was taken by road to Attock City the last major town of Punjab on the boundary with KhyberPakhtunkhwa provinceInitially it was expected that he would be kept in the Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi but for security reasons he was taken to AttockShah Mahmood Qureshi who is leading the PTI in the absence of Khan in a video message urged workers to take to the streets but remain peacefulPeaceful protest is our right but no state asset is to be damaged Dont take the law into your hands he cautionedA similar message was given by Khan in a prerecorded clip which was run by the party on social media platforms but the supporters response was not electricHowever his arrest failed to bring crowds of supporters on the streets a stark contrast with his arrest on May 9 when thousands of them came out to protest against the detentionThe major reason for the lukewarm response is that the party has considerably shrunk after the May 9 violence that saw organized attacks on military installations and other state propertiesSeveral top leaders left or were forced to quit the party when arrested after the protestMeanwhile Qureshi chaired an emergency meeting of the core committee of PTI to chalk out a strategy to tackle the conviction of KhanThe meeting deliberated on the court verdict in the Toshakhana case and the arrest of Khan and devised a future strategy for his releaseRejecting the conviction of the former premier it declared the arrest was a result of a biased and flawed judicial decision and called for a nationwide peaceful protestThe committee also appealed to the Supreme Court of Pakistan for a swift hearing of the partys review petitionOur appeal should be fixed for a hearing on a priority basis without considering holidays and other routines they demandedThe meeting noted that the whole nation has rejected the wrong decision of a biased judge and claimed that the whole facade of implicating Imran was a prearranged planThe members of the partys core committee further alleged that the decision was delivered through a fake trialThey also pointed out that the Constitution gave them the right to hold a peaceful protestWe would hold protests in the light of our chairmans advice and instructions We will be peaceful and within the framework of the Constitution and law it addedThe committee expressed their unwavering determination to fight a comprehensive legal battle to secure the release of their leader and urged the party workers to hold peaceful protests within the bounds of the lawMany believe that the decision by the sessions court was given in a hurry as an appeal against its decision to disallow witnesses is still pending in the Islamabad High CourtSecond the court decided the issue of the maintainability of the case without hearing PTI lawyers who were absentKhan can challenge the verdict in the high court and then its outcome in the Supreme Court where the session courts verdict may face a strong challenge on both legal and technical groundsPTI has a strong following among the expats and protests by them in the major Western capitals may pressure the government but it will take timeThe legal community has also alleged that hidden forces were at play in the hasty decision seeking to undermine the strengthening of the democratic system in the countryThey warned the political leaders within the ruling alliance extolling the verdict to consider the consequences they may face tomorrowIn a joint statement Lahore High Court Bar Association President Chaudhry Ishtiaq Ahmad Khan Vice President Rabia Bajwa and Finance Secretary Muhammad Shahrukh Warriach said it was very unfortunate that the PTI chairman was denied his right of selfdefenceThey noted that it was also a matter of concern that political leaders in the ruling alliance were supporting the powers but they should keep in mind that they may have to face the same fate tomorrowThe rejection of the courts decision by both the PTI and the legal fraternity has heightened political tensions as the country gears up for the upcoming electionsPrime Minister Shehbaz Sharif last week told leaders of the allied parties that he would send advice to the president for the dissolution of the National Assembly on August 9PTI