The imprisoned founder of PTI, Imran Khan, has delivered a clear message to the leadership of his party: resist the assembly pressure or partially with the party, according to PTI’s legal spokesman, Naeem Haider Panjutha.
Speaking to the media outside the Adiala prison on Saturday, Panjutha claimed that the Judiciary has become totally subordinate to the government, and that the objectives behind the 26th constitutional amendment have become very clear as PTI’s leaders and supporters are being condemned and disqualified.
Regarding the Saturday minutes of the Toshakhana 2 case, Panjutha said that the hearing was scheduled for the Adiala prison, but could not proceed as planned. “They were only given access to some of the legal representatives, while others were forbidden to attend. As a result, there were no substantive procedures,” he said. He added that former First Lady Bushra Bibi boycotted the audience in protest.
Panjutha recalled that Imran said during the meeting: “The truth finally prevails, while falsehood is destined to fail.” The founder of PTI Incarceado also said that the judges of the Anti -Terrorist Court (ATC) and others are acting in concert with the Government, retaining CCTV images related to the events of May 9.
Panjutha pointed out the MNA Latif Chitrali judgment as evidence of what he described as a broader campaign to disqualify PTI legislators. “If the upper leaders such as Yasmin Rashid and Shah Mahmood Qureshi left the party today, they would probably be released,” he said.
Advancing in parallels with past judicial controversies, Panjutha claimed that the former president of the Supreme Court Saqib Nisar had played a role similar to that of Judge Munir by undermining judicial independence. In addition, he criticized the process of electoral appeals, claiming that he is being supervised by the same electoral commission of officials of Pakistan allegedly involved in electoral negligence.
According to Panjutha, Imran has ordered the party to adopt a peaceful resistance strategy, rejecting any additional confrontation or violence. “The president has made it clear: no more bullets. Our protests will now be peaceful,” he said. “Personally, the movement will lead from bars behind bars, since all other democratic pathways have closed.”
Imran, Panjutha added, is considered a prisoner for the cause of “haqiqi azadi” (real freedom). He added that all the political forces that believe in human rights will be invited to join the PTI protest movement. “Participation is voluntary,” he said, “but the movement will proceed with or without them.”
