ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) core committee on Friday expressed profound concerns over the continued “denial” to provide basic facilities and rights to its jailed chairman and former prime minister Imran Khan in the prison.

According to a statement of the party, a core committee meeting of the PTI was held, in which, the legal team gave a detailed briefing to the participants about the progress so far in the cases against party chairman Imran Khan.

The committee expressed deep concerns over the continued failure of the government to provide basic facilities and rights to its jailed chairman.

The committee also discussed in detail the upcoming hearing in Islamabad High Court on August 22 on the PTI chairman’s appeal against the court’s sentence and expressed the hope that the court will annul the district and sessions court’s sentence against Imran Khan and provision of his basic rights.

According to the statement, the core committee also reiterated its previous demand to set up a high level judicial commission to investigate the diplomatic cypher and May 9 events so that the people of Pakistan get to know the “facts”.

It stated that the core committee also discussed the recent interview of BNP-Mengal chief Sardar Akhtar Mengal to a private TV channel in which he had talked about the incidents of enforced disappearances in the country. It maintained that Mengal’s interview validated the perception that other missing persons are supposed to be in the custody with the military institutions.

“The concerns authorities need to take measure for removing the confusion and inform the nation about the facts in light of Sardar Akhtar Mengal’s statements,” the PTI core committee further demanded. It stated that the core committee paid rich compliments to PTI president Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi and other PTI leaders and workers who are “bravely facing the repression”.

The core committee also strongly condemned the continued “barbarism” against PTI despite formation of the caretaker government. It added that an increase has been witnessed in incidents of “barbarism” against PTI leaders and workers in southern Punjab. “An effort is being made to break down PTI and change loyalties of the leaders and workers through the use of worst force,” it further maintained.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2023