GENEVA: The wife of Pakistan’s former prime minister Imran Khan is being held in conditions that could pose a serious risk to her physical and mental health, a UN expert warned Wednesday.
Alice Jill Edwards, the United Nations’ special rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, urged the Pakistani authorities to take immediate action to address the situation.
Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi were convicted of graft in January, and they were sentenced to 14 years and seven years in prison, respectively.
And on Saturday, a Pakistani court sentenced them to 17 years for corruption involving gifts the jailed ex-premier received while in office.
Both Khan and Bibi were handed a 10-year prison sentence on criminal breach of trust, and seven years on corruption charges in a case alleging the underpricing of state gifts.
“The state has an obligation to protect Mrs. Khan’s health and ensure conditions of detention compatible with human dignity,” Edwards said in a statement.
Bibi is reportedly confined to a small and dirty cell which is often dark due to power cuts, said Edwards.
“Such conditions fall far below minimum international standards,” said Edwards.
“No detainee should be exposed to extreme heat, contaminated food or water, or conditions that aggravate existing medical conditions.”
Reports also indicate that she is often in near-total isolation for more than 22 hours a day.
“The authorities must ensure Mrs. Khan has the possibility to communicate with her lawyers and receive visits from family members, and have meaningful human contact throughout her detention,” Edwards said.
The special rapporteur has formally raised Bibi’s situation with the government in Islamabad.
UN special rapporteurs are independent experts mandated by the Human Rights Council. They do not speak for the United Nations itself.
Earlier this month, Edwards said Khan was being held in conditions that could amount to torture and other inhuman or degrading treatment.
She urged the Pakistani authorities to ensure that the 73-year-old’s conditions of detention fully complied with international norms.
Khan, who captained Pakistan to victory in the 1992 Cricket World Cup, upended Pakistani politics by becoming the prime minister in 2018.
He was ousted in 2022 by a no-confidence vote after losing favor with the military.
The former cricket star has been held in custody since August 2023, charged in dozens of cases that he claims are politically motivated.
UN expert decries detention of Pakistan ex-PM Khan’s wife
https://arab.news/2wmfe
UN expert decries detention of Pakistan ex-PM Khan’s wife
- “The state has an obligation to protect Mrs. Khan’s health and ensure conditions of detention compatible with human dignity,” Edwards said in a statement
Ukraine toils to restore power and heat, Zelensky warns of new attack
- Russia has systematically attacked Ukraine’s energy system since it invaded its neighbor in 2022 and the air strikes have intensified in recent months
KYIV: Emergency crews toiled to restore heat and power to beleaguered Kyiv residents on Monday, more than three days after Russian strikes on energy targets, and President Volodymyr Zelensky warned that new air attacks could be imminent.
Officials said hundreds of apartment blocks in the capital remained without heat despite round-the-clock efforts by the crews. Humanitarian centers, dubbed “resilience points,” were open for people to keep warm and charge electronic devices.
Russia has systematically attacked Ukraine’s energy system since it invaded its neighbor in 2022 and the air strikes have intensified in recent months.
Zelensky, speaking in his nightly video address, said a program was being launched to raise wages and provide support for participants in emergency work brigades.
He issued a new warning to heed air raid alerts as night-time temperatures sank to minus 15 Celsius (5 F) or lower.
“There is intelligence information. The Russians are preparing a new massive strike,” he said.
“Drones to exhaust air defense systems and missiles. They want to take advantage of the cold. The strike may occur in the coming days. Please take care of yourselves. Protect Ukraine.”
Deputy Prime Minister Oleksiy Kuleba, writing on Telegram, said 90 percent of Kyiv’s apartment buildings have had heating restored, leaving fewer than 500 dwellings still to be connected.
Mayor Vitali Klitschko put the number with no heating at 800, most on the west bank of the Dnipro River. He said a meeting of the Kyiv city council would be convened on Thursday to debate the most pressing issues facing residents.
Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko, presenting the program for bonus payments, said the work conducted by emergency crews stood “at the very limit of human endurance, often involving life-threatening risks across the entire country.
“This applies to specialists who, in freezing conditions, go directly to the sites of strikes and restore supplies of heat, electricity, water and gas.”
Residents made their way to one of the humanitarian centers on the east bank of the river in the evening — two tents pitched on a small area of open ground.
They charged their devices and chatted, while outside, the din of whining generators filled the air.
“It’s dark in the apartment. I have an electric stove, so it’s impossible to heat up lunch or dinner, or make tea,” said Kateryna Zubko, 67, an engineer who has lived without power, heating and water since the latest attack.
“We support each other. Ukrainians are such resilient people, I think that this war will end someday, it can’t go on forever.”
