RAWALPINDI: “Hostile forces” are bent on reversing progress in Pakistan’s former Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), youth representatives from the strife-plagued region have been told.
Pakistan’s Chief of Army Staff, Gen. Qamar Javed Bajwa, met with members of a tribal youth jirga in Rawalpindi on Monday and offered congratulations on the tribal belt’s historic merger with the neighboring province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
But the army chief also warned the youth representatives to “be aware of inimical forces who wish to exploit fault lines and try to reverse our gains.
“They shall never succeed,” he said.
Bajwa praised the youth assembly’s motivation and passion, and said that the tribal belt’s merger will bring peace and socioeconomic gains to the long-neglected area, ending its history as a extremist enclave.
“The state is determined to root out extremism and terrorism for which youth has a great role to play. Focus on your peaceful endeavors; participate in political and democratic activities. We have achieved peace at a high cost of blood and national expense, and we shall never let it go,” Bajwa said.
The army chief said that “achievements won through the sacrifices of the brave tribals” are being consolidated during the transition from relative stability to enduring peace.
He urged the youth to continue working toward peace and progress in Pakistan.
The youth jirga praised the Pakistan Army’s efforts and acknowledged Bajwa’s support for the tribal area.
‘Hostile forces’ out to reverse tribal gains, army chief warns
‘Hostile forces’ out to reverse tribal gains, army chief warns
- “Be aware of inimical forces who wish to exploit fault lines and try to reverse our gains. They shall never succeed,” says the Army chief
- “The state is determined to root out extremism and terrorism for which youth has a great role to play," he added
UN torture expert decries Pakistan ex-PM Khan’s detention
- Khan’s party alleges government is holding him in solitary confinement, barring prison visits
- Pakistan’s government rejects allegations former premier is being denied basic rights in prison
GENEVA: Pakistan’s former prime minister Imran Khan is being held in conditions that could amount to torture and other inhuman or degrading treatment, the United Nations’ special rapporteur on torture warned Friday.
Alice Jill Edwards urged Pakistan to take immediate and effective action to address reports of the 73-year-old’s inhumane and undignified detention conditions.
“I call on Pakistani authorities to ensure that Khan’s conditions of detention fully comply with international norms and standards,” Edwards said in a statement.
“Since his transfer to Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi on September 26, 2023, Imran Khan has reportedly been held for excessive periods in solitary confinement, confined for 23 hours a day in his cell, and with highly restricted access to the outside world,” she said.
“His cell is reportedly under constant camera surveillance.”
Khan an all-rounder who captained Pakistan to victory in the 1992 Cricket World Cup, upended Pakistani politics by becoming the prime minister in 2018.
Edwards said prolonged or indefinite solitary confinement is prohibited under international human rights law and constitutes a form of psychological torture when it lasts longer than 15 days.
“Khan’s solitary confinement should be lifted without delay. Not only is it an unlawful measure, extended isolation can bring about very harmful consequences for his physical and mental health,” she said.
UN special rapporteurs are independent experts mandated by the Human Rights Council. They do not, therefore, speak for the United Nations itself.
Initially a strong backer of the country’s powerful military leadership, Khan was ousted in a no-confidence vote in 2022, and has since been jailed on a slew of corruption charges that he denies.
He has accused the military of orchestrating his downfall and pursuing his Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party and its allies.
Khan’s supporters say he is being denied prison visits from lawyers and family after a fiery social media post this month accusing army leader Field Marshal Asim Munir of persecuting him.
According to information Edwards has received, visits from Khan’s lawyers and relatives are frequently interrupted or ended prematurely, while he is held in a small cell lacking natural light and adequate ventilation.
“Anyone deprived of liberty must be treated with humanity and dignity,” the UN expert said.
“Detention conditions must reflect the individual’s age and health situation, including appropriate sleeping arrangements, climatic protection, adequate space, lighting, heating, and ventilation.”
Edwards has raised Khan’s situation with the Pakistani government.
