Imran Khan says he will not bow, ready to die for people’s freedom

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder and former prime minister Imran Khan has said he will not retreat even an inch from his stance and will secure freedom for the people, even at the cost of his life.

PTI Secretary General Salman Akram Raja quoted him saying this during a media talk at the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa House in Islamabad.

 Raja said that according to the party’s lawyers, the PTI founder is being kept in solitary confinement in Adiala jail.

He said a notification has been issued for other trials under which even family members will not be allowed access to the courtroom, while judges will hear cases via video link from distant locations.

He said that there are court orders stating that the PTI founder must be granted the right to a fair and open trial, but meetings scheduled for Tuesdays and Thursdays have been suspended.

The PTI leader said that government spokespersons have claimed Imran Khan has been allowed meetings, calling the claim completely false. He said the PTI founder has said that the people will now have to stand up for their rights.

Salman Akram Raja said the PTI founder has stated that all avenues for justice have been shut, his cases are not being heard in the courts, and the doors of justice have effectively been closed.

He said the PTI founder has urged the public to come out on the streets and raise their voices, adding that his message is that the people have no option left but protest.

He said the PTI founder’s message is for the people to come out for their rights and that he stands with all prisoners, especially women detainees.

He said the party will not back down from its demands for rights. He said that the PTI founder had a brief meeting with his lawyer Salman Safdar today. He said that when verdicts were being announced, neither the PTI founder nor his lawyers were present.

According to him, the PTI founder has reiterated that he will not retreat even an inch from his stance.

Salman Akram Raja said the PTI founder has declared that he will secure freedom for the people or is ready for ‘martyrdom’, and has instructed party workers to begin preparations for a street movement. He said the PTI founder’s message is that there are no other options left.

He added that the PTI founder also expressed resentment over the imprisonment of his wife, saying Bushra Bibi has been jailed solely because she is his spouse.