Peshawar: Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi Sunday alleged that a recent speech by Kasim Khan, son of former prime minister Imran Khan, was being deliberately misrepresented by the government in an attempt to mislead the public.
Addressing a press conference, Afridi said that authorities were trying to shift blame for their economic failures onto Kasim to conceal their own incompetence.
We have translated Kasim Khan’s speech into Urdu to present the facts before the nation, Afridi stated.
He alleged that the speech was being deliberately misrepresented by the government in an attempt to mislead the public.
Highlighting international standards, the chief minister said that European countries require adherence to democracy, human rights, environmental protection, and transparent governance for trade relations.
He alleged that the current federal government was violating these principles while attempting to blame the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI).
Afridi reiterated that Pakistan should qualify for the GSP Plus trade status and stressed the importance of meeting international benchmarks.
He further accused the ruling leadership of being blinded by political hostility towards 73-year-old Khan, claiming that the public no longer wishes to see them in power. He warned that PTI workers across the country were prepared to stage protests.
Raising concerns over alleged human rights violations, Afridi said that after Khan, his wife Bushra Bibi, was also facing health issues, particularly related to her eyesight, and was being subjected to unjust treatment in custody.
The chief minister further alleged that PTI lawmakers and workers in Punjab and Sindh were being detained and subjected to severe torture. He condemned what he described as an ongoing crackdown against Pashtuns in both provinces, as well as violence against independent journalists.
Afridi maintained that the KP government was actively working toward national development and investing significantly in environmental protection for future generations.
Kasim, the son of incarcerated PTI founder Khan, raised his father’s case at the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) Wednesday, saying that the former prime minister’s treatment by authorities violated international human rights conventions.
Khan, imprisoned since 2023 for concealing details of Toshakhana gifts, is serving a 14-year sentence at Rawalpindi’s Adiala jail in the Euro 190 million corruption case.
Kasim noted that Pakistan had made binding commitments under the GSP+ framework to uphold international human rights conventions, including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the United Nations Convention against Torture.
According to the European Union, the GSP Plus status is a special incentive awarded to developing countries to pursue sustainable development and good governance in exchange for cutting import duties to zero on two-thirds of the tariff lines of its exports.
He claimed that Imran’s detention was arbitrary and that he was being kept in solitary confinement. Kasim further mentioned that there was a bar on his family visiting him and also alleged the denial of medical care to him. This, along with the trial of civilians in military courts, violated those treaty obligations, he said.
Kasim said, My brother and I are not political people. We never wanted to come before bodies like this. But my father’s life demands that we take action.