ISLAMABAD: Former prime minister Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party said on Wednesday the country’s higher judiciary had fixed a petition challenging his three-year imprisonment on graft charges for hearing next week.

Khan, who was ousted from power in a parliamentary no-trust vote last year in April, was convicted by a local court for illegally selling state gifts which he received during his term in the country’s top political office.

His party reiterated earlier in the day he was not getting all his legal and constitutional rights after being arrested from his Lahore residence in what has come to be known as the Toshakhana – or state repository – case more than 10 days ago.

“Chairman PTI Imran Khan’s application for suspension of lower court decision against Toshakhana judgment fixed for hearing on August 22, 2023,” the party circulated a brief message among the media community on Wednesday.

“While being in solidarity confinement, Chairman PTI has not yet been given proper access, legal team wasn’t allowed to meet even today & they’re filing another petition in Islamabad High Court,” it added.

The PTI noted there were no legal obstacles preventing Khan’s lawyers from meet him, adding they were perfectly within their right to interact with their client under the prison manual and the constitution.

However, in a social media post, it maintained the former PM had been deprived of his rights deliberately despite being the founding leader of the country’s largest political party.

Khan developed significant differences with the country’s military since his ouster from power which he attributed to a “foreign conspiracy.”

The former prime minister’s political faction faced a crackdown after resorting to violent protests and targeting government and military installations earlier this year in May when he was briefly arrested from a court in Islamabad on corruption allegations.