Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi have submitted formal appeals to the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture over their alleged arbitrary detention and inhumane treatment, said PTI leader Zulfi Bukhari.
Taking to X on Friday, Bukhari revealed that two appeals had been formally lodged on behalf of the incarcerated PTI chief and his spouse. He added that the appeals were made with the assistance of human rights law firm Perseus Strategies.
“I am pleased to announce that two formal appeals have been submitted to the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture, @DrAliceJEdwards, on behalf of former PM @ImranKhanPTI and his wife, Bushra Bibi,” Bukhari wrote on X.
Bukhari noted that the appeal for Khan was submitted by his sons, Sulaiman and Kasim, while Bushra Bibi’s sister, Maryam Wattoo, filed the submission on her behalf. He further alleged that the couple’s ongoing detention is politically motivated and aimed at undermining the former premier's resolve.
“We will never stop raising our voices on every platform against their arbitrary detention and inhumane treatment. For the first time in Pakistan’s history, the wife of a political prisoner is also being incarcerated, solely to break his resolve,” Bukhari claimed.
He also thanked Jared Genser and Jacob Bogart of Perseus Strategies for their "invaluable support" in preparing the legal documentation submitted to the UN body.
The development comes amid ongoing legal battles involving the former prime minister and his wife, who have both been sentenced in multiple cases over the past year, including the Toshakhana and Iddat cases. PTI and its supporters have repeatedly termed the convictions as politically motivated.
The UN Special Rapporteur on Torture is an independent expert appointed by the UN Human Rights Council to investigate and report on issues related to torture and other cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment worldwide.
Separately, Kasim wrote, “My father, Imran Khan, is in prison because he stood up for democracy. He is held in solitary confinement, denied access to his doctors, and restricted from meeting his lawyers and family. At the same time, members of his family and thousands of his supporters have been abducted or dragged before military courts.”
He termed the incarceration of his father as political revenge, stating, “This is not justice - it is political revenge. Pakistan’s democracy is at stake, and I call on all who believe in human rights and democracy to stand with us so that the people’s voice is heard and the rule of law is restored. “
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