- “£190m and Toshakhana cases detailed for IPU”.
- May 9 and GHQ case briefings shared.
- British and American lawmakers had previously called for Khan’s release.
A global parliamentary body has decided to send its representative to observe the trials against Pakistani Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan, his lawyer revealed on Thursday.
Khan’s lawyer, Khalid Yousuf Chaudhry, said Geo News that he discussed the former Prime Minister’s cases with an official of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), following which the latter decided to send its observer to the trial.
The IPU, of which Pakistan is a member, facilitates parliamentary diplomacy and empowers parliaments and parliamentarians to promote peace, democracy and sustainable development around the world.
“The IPU representative has been briefed on the legal proceedings in this £190 million case,” Chaudhry said in his statement. “They were also informed about the Toshakhana cases.”
He added: “I provided the IPU representative with details of the sanctions imposed in the Toshakhana cases, as well as the legal and constitutional flaws and the violation of the right to a fair trial.”
Chaudhry said the IPU representative was also briefed about the events of May 9 and the GHQ affair. “In November 2023, an IPU trial observer attempted to visit Adiala Prison, but was denied permission.”
This is not the first time someone outside Pakistan has spoken out about Khan’s imprisonment or affairs, as parliamentarians from the United Kingdom and the United States have also called for the former prime minister’s release.
Khan, who is the only prime minister to be ousted by a vote of no confidence, has been in prison since August 2023, although all four convictions against him have either been suspended or overturned.
In July last year, a number of British parliamentarians called for the former prime minister to be released, while more than 60 Democratic lawmakers in the US House of Representatives wrote to President Joe Biden in October 2024, l ‘urging to use Washington’s influence with Pakistan to secure release. of Khan.
However, the governments of both countries maintained that this was an internal matter of Pakistan.
In addition to their interest in Khan, the US, UK and EU also criticized military courts last month for the sentencing of civilians in connection with attacks on military installations on May 9, 2023, after the arrest of imprisoned former Prime Minister.