Lahore:
Former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan's party claimed on Saturday that his cousin Hassan Niazi had been “kidnapped” from military custody and taken to an undisclosed location to put pressure on him.
The development comes days after 71-year-old Khan alleged that Pakistan's army chief, General Asim Munir, was directly responsible for the capture of his wife Bushra Bibi.
More than 100 Pakistani Tehreek-e-Insaf leaders and workers are in army custody and facing military trials for their alleged involvement in attacking key military installations in May last year, following the arrest of Imran Khan in a corruption case .
Mr Khan, the founder of PTI, is facing over 100 cases and has been lodged in Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi for over eight months.
“We strongly condemn the abduction of Imran Khan's cousin Hassan Niazi and another young PTI leader Ibad Farooq from military captivity. We want the Supreme Court to guarantee their immediate release and hold the kidnappers accountable,” PTI spokesperson Raoof Hasan said in a statement.
Expressing deep concern over the relocation of both PTI leaders Hassan to an unknown place, the spokesperson said around 100 innocent civilians have been kept in illegal military custody under the guise of a “May 9 false flag operation” and were subjected to political actions . revenge.
“The inhuman treatment meted out to the young PTI leaders is purely political as they have courageously endured the worst state oppression and brutality in the last 10 months,” he said.
He said the kidnapping of Niazi and Farooq was an open attack on the sanctity of law and justice and a violation of basic human and constitutional rights. “The trial of civilians under military laws is unconstitutional.” The spokesperson further said that it is shameful and condemnable to attack Khan's nephew Hassan Niazi as political revenge to put pressure on the unlawfully imprisoned PTI leader.
He went on to say that coercive and shaming tactics are being used against Ibad Farooq to punish his brother for contesting by-elections and to keep him away from the electoral process.
The spokesperson demanded that the Supreme Court of Pakistan take note of the enforced disappearance and kidnapping of Hasan Niazi and Ibad Farooq, ensure their speedy recovery and hold the kidnappers accountable.
Earlier, Mr Khan claimed that General Munir was directly involved in the sentence imposed on his wife Bushra Bibi.
“If anything happens to my wife, I will not spare Asim Munir; I will not spare Asim Munir as long as I live. I will expose his unconstitutional and illegal steps,” he had threatened.
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