In rare chat with top judges, ex-Premier Khan brings up Pakistan polls

By Riyaz ul Khaliq and Yasin Gungor

ISTANBUL (AA) - In a rare conversation with top judges, incarcerated former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan has brought up the issue of the Feb. 8 general elections, according to his party.

Addressing the country’s top judges from Adiala jail in the garrison city of Rawalpindi, where he is serving two jail sentences, Khan said on Thursday that there were few petitions pending before the top court.

“One is regarding human rights violations, and another is related to historic robbery committed during the Feb. 8 elections,” Khan told the judges, adding: “Please take up these cases immediately.”

Khan and his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party have alleged fraud in the general elections, though most of the seats through direct vote were won by candidates backed by his party.

The caretaker government, which conducted the polls, however denied any wrongdoing.

It was the second time Khan appeared in the case as a five-member bench of judges resumed hearing intra-court appeals against a Supreme Court ruling that had struck down amendments to the anti-graft laws.

Earlier, Khan attended the court proceeding on May 16 but did not speak.

The court adjourned the case till next week but gave no new date.

The top court did not run live-streaming of the court proceedings when Khan was speaking, unlike other cases.

The virtual court appearance, however, allowed the 71-year-old former cricket star to reveal his life in jail.

He and his party claim that he was booked in bogus cases.

Khan said he was being held in solitary confinement without access to legal aid and a library, rendering him unable to prepare for the case to challenge the dilution of anti-graft laws.

The top judge said Khan could meet his lawyer Khawaja Haris “anytime.”

Khan is currently in jail for conviction in two cases: An illegal Islamic marriage law case and exposing state secrets.

There are some 200 cases against him but courts have acquitted him in several, including two on Thursday related to the May 9 violence when Khan’s arrest triggered mass protests last year.

He has got bail in several others.

However, the government later filed new charges against Khan and former Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, just as the courts were about to rule on an appeal against Khan's appeals against his two convictions.