Rumors are circulating on social media that the United Nations has termed all cases against former Prime Minister Imran Khan illegal and has demanded Pakistan to release him immediately. However, the truth is different.
The facts are that the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention has declared that PTI founder Imran Khan’s detention and prosecution in the first Toshakhana case and the cipher case were “without legal basis” and politically motivated to exclude him from the political process.
After the news spread, social media users gave it a different color and started spreading the rumors that the UN had demanded the immediate release of Imran Khan.
The UN body adopted its opinion on the PTI founder’s detention during its 99th session from March 18-27, according to a document dated June 18. Highlighting numerous legal inconsistencies and irregularities in the various court proceedings against the PTI chief, the body stated it was assessing whether Imran’s detention was arbitrary.
The working group concluded that his detention had no legal basis and appeared intended to disqualify him from running for political office, based on detailed and unrebutted submissions about the unlawful nature of the prosecution in the first Toshakhana case and the context of political repression of Imran and his party.
It expressed concern about Imran’s conviction in the first Toshakhana case, particularly the summary judgment delivered in absentia, and his subsequent arrest, during which law enforcement personnel broke into his residence and assaulted him and his staff, further compounding the illegality.
Regarding the cipher case, the working group noted that his prosecution “lacks a grounding in law” since his actions did not appear to have violated the Official Secrets Act, as corroborated by the intelligence services based on unrebutted submissions.
