- Title: Pakistan former PM Khan has 'no facilities' in prison, lawyer says
- Date: 7th August 2023
- Summary: ISLAMABAD, PAKISTAN (AUGUST 7, 2023) (REUTERS) LEGAL TEAM OF FORMER PRIME MINISTER IMRAN KHAN LED BY FORMER FOREIGN MINISTER SHAH MAHMOOD QURESHI, WHO IS LEADING THE PAKISTAN TAHREEK-E-INSAF (PTI) PARTY WHILE KHAN IS IN JAIL, ARRIVING FOR NEWS CONFERENCE LEGAL TEAM SITTING DOWN NEWS CONFERENCE (SOUNDBITE) (Urdu) NAEEM PANJUTHA, IMRAN KHAN'S LAWYER, SAYING: "He (Khan) told me that he had been provided with no facilities. There is no air conditioning, which as a former prime minister, he should be entitled to. There is only a fan, and the washroom is open and the shower is not working. During the day, there are lots of flies, and at night there are various insects. It rained at night and the water seeped into the barrack. He was put into a small room where it is difficult for him to pray." LAWYERS FOR KHAN (SOUNDBITE) (Urdu) NAEEM PANJUTHA, IMRAN KHAN'S LAWYER, SAYING: "(Khan said) 'I have no access to a mobile phone, there is no television either, to know what is happening. Newspapers are not allowed to be brought in. No basic facilities are provided to me.'" REPORTERS (SOUNDBITE) (English) PTI PARTY TEMPORARY LEADER, SHAH MAHMOOD QURESHI, SAYING: "The conditions are deplorable. He is being kept in a cell, which is 9 x 11(feet). The hygienic conditions are terrible; there are no separate toilet facilities; the room is dark and dingy. The basic rights that even an ordinary prisoner under the prison rules can access, he is being deprived of." HAND WRITING NOTES (SOUNDBITE) (English) PTI PARTY TEMPORARY LEADER, SHAH MAHMOOD QURESHI, SAYING: "On the legal process, we've got the power of attorney signed. The petition will be filed tomorrow; and hopefully we feel that there are such lacunas and loopholes, that he should get relief (meaning comfort). That's what the legal experts feel." MEDIA
- Embargoed: 21st August 2023 18:04
- Keywords: DEPLORABLE IMRAN KHAN LAWYER PAKISTAN PRISON conditions former prime minister poor
- Location: ISLAMABAD, PAKISTAN
- City: ISLAMABAD, PAKISTAN
- Country: Pakistan
- Topics: Asia / Pacific,Government/Politics
- Reuters ID: LVA001291707082023RP1
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Pakistan's Imran Khan has "no facilities" in prison, his lawyer said on Monday (August 7), two days after the former prime minister was convicted over graft and jailed for three years.
The prison selected by the government to detain Khan is a lowly and distant facility that houses hardened criminals and does not have the conditions that political prisoners are entitled to, his party and lawyers said.
It is a dramatic fall from the luxurious lifestyle that Khan, the charismatic cricketer-turned-politician, has along been associated with in Pakistan and abroad as a sporting icon and national hero.
Speaking during a news conference in Islamabad, former Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, who is leading the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) while Khan is in jail, said a petition will be filled on Tuesday (August 8) to challenge the conditions.
(Production: Salah Uddin, Sheree Sardar) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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