In an unusual move, the opposition Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party led by ousted Prime Minister Imran Khan on Wednesday sought the UN’s help for a “free and fair” probe, which it called “state excesses and human rights”. violation”. “During a protest last week by the Govt.
Khan’s supporters violently protested in Islamabad on May 25 to force the government to announce early elections, and the police had to resort to tear gas and lathi-charge to keep them under control.
In a letter to UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet, senior PTI leader and Human Rights Minister in Khan’s government Shireen Mazari alleged that the government used force against the protesters and also initiated “politically motivated” cases against the party leadership. .
He called for an “independent and fair investigation into these state excesses and human rights violations”.
Mazari urged the UN official to “immediate attention to the issues raised as they put at risk not only democracy in Pakistan but also the life of former Prime Minister Khan, his party’s leadership, and to work with the Government of Pakistan on these.” intervened”.
Read also | Imran Khan demands review of Pak Supreme Court’s decision on Speaker Suri’s decision on no-confidence motion
He accused the government of committing “state excesses” against PTI workers during the crackdown. He called for the intervention of the United Nations to end the harassment of “PTI” members and to protect them from “political” cases against them.
Mazari also demanded that the government stop the censorship of the media, which she said was “violating basic democratic norms and the ICCPR to which Pakistan is a party”.
It urged the United Nations to prevent the government of Pakistan from “depriving it of its right to peaceful protest through repressive measures”.
Mazari’s letter comes a day after Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif constituted a committee to probe whether PTI protesters were in possession of weapons during the protest.
Earlier, former prime minister Khan said in an interview that he called off the protest because some protesters carried guns and feared clashes and violence.
See also | Former Pakistan PM Imran Khan defied court orders and started violence by reaching Islamabad
Defense Minister Khawaja Asif has claimed that the protesters in the “Azadi March” were carrying not only guns but also automatic weapons on Khan’s orders.
Khan led thousands of supporters of his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party into a protest in Islamabad last week and had planned to stage a sit-in until new elections were announced, but abruptly called off the strike at the last minute. This for the capital.
However, he had threatened to return after six days if he failed to give a date for the mid-term elections in the country.
Khan, who was ousted from power in April via a motion of no confidence, is claiming that the no-confidence motion against him was the result of a “foreign conspiracy” because of his independent foreign policy and money being sent from abroad to oust him. power to him. He has named the US behind the conspiracy, a charge Washington has denied.