Karachi (HRNW)- Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Sindh President Haleem Adil Sheikh has said that the continued illegal detention of party patron-in-chief Imran Ahmed Khan Niazi for over 910 days, coupled with prolonged solitary confinement, mental torture and denial of basic facilities, constitutes a clear violation of the Constitution of Pakistan, court orders and international human rights laws.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, he said the secrecy surrounding Imran Khan’s health, denial of meetings with family members and personal doctors, and the lack of transparency on the part of jail authorities were glaring examples of state oppression, causing serious concern across the country.
Haleem Adil Sheikh said that the unjustified arrests of PTI workers across Sindh, raids on their homes, harassment of women and elderly family members, and attempts to suppress political activity through force had exposed the fascist nature of governance in the province. He added that the detention of more than 180 peaceful PTI leaders and workers from Karachi under the Maintenance of Public Order (MPO-3) law was not democracy but open authoritarianism aimed at silencing the public voice.
Condemning the rising lawlessness and incidents of terrorism across the country, including Balochistan, the PTI Sindh president said threats to the lives and property of citizens were the direct result of the rulers’ failed policies. He said targeting political opponents instead of addressing public issues had laid bare the government’s misplaced priorities. He reiterated that PTI would neither be intimidated by oppression nor retreat from its struggle for constitutional rights.
Haleem Adil Sheikh announced that February 8 would be observed as a Black Day, accompanied by a nationwide shutter-down strike and wheel-jam protest, terming it a peaceful but decisive expression of public opinion against the theft of the people’s mandate. He appealed to the people of Sindh, including traders, lawyers, students and all segments of society, to participate fully in the protest to safeguard the Constitution, democracy and their right to vote.
He warned that Imran Ahmed Khan Niazi is a red line for millions of Pakistanis and said that any harm caused to him would rest squarely with the rulers who came to power through what he termed a “fake mandate”.
