Pakistan ex-PM Imran Khan’s lawyers cannot reach him in jail: Spokesman
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Former Pakistani prime minister Imran Khan was taken by police from his home on Aug 5 and transferred to a jail just outside Islamabad.
PHOTO: REUTERS
ISLAMABAD - Former Pakistani prime minister Imran Khan’s lawyers could not reach him on Sunday after he spent the night in a jail near the capital, a spokesman said.
Khan was taken by police from his home in the eastern city of Lahore on Saturday and transferred to the jail just outside Islamabad.
He was detained on a corruption conviction relating to the sale of state gifts.
The conviction likely means the cricket star-turned-politician will be disqualified from running in a national election.
“Attock prison is a ‘no go’ area for (his) legal team as well as locals in the vicinity,” said Mr Naeem Haider Panjotha, Khan’s spokesman for legal affairs, adding they were unable to take him food or arrange the signing of legal documents.
Pakistan’s Information Minister referred a request for comment on Khan’s access to his lawyers to provincial authorities in Punjab, where the jail is located. Punjab’s top information official could not immediately be reached for comment.
It was not clear whether Khan would appear in court on Monday, after a trial court’s surprise weekend decision sentencing him to three years in prison.
The arrest was the latest in a series of blows that have weakened his political standing, after he fell out with Pakistan’s powerful military and his party splintered.
His Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party said it had filed appeals in higher courts over the decision.
The nationwide reaction was largely quiet, despite calls by PTI on Saturday for peaceful protests.
In May, widespread violent clashes plunged the country into turmoil after Khan was held for several days.
Thousands of Khan’s aides and supporters have been arrested since May, according to the Interior Minister.
Supporters of former Pakistani prime minister Imran Khan protesting in Quetta, Pakistan, on Aug 5.
PHOTO: AFP
Many pro-Khan parliamentarians were also arrested and have distanced themselves from Khan, with some resigning from politics.
His arrest came days before the government was expected to dissolve Parliament, which would normally lead to elections by November.
But the government decided on Saturday to use the latest census as part of election procedure, potentially delaying the vote.
Britain’s foreign office said on Saturday that it was closely monitoring the situation and supported democratic principles. Pakistan’s government denies Khan’s arrest was related to the election.
Legal experts say the conviction means Khan would likely be disqualified form politics for five years.
His vice-chairman, former foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, has taken the helm of PTI in Khan’s absence. REUTERS
