UN chief wants Imran Khan's situation evolve in more positive way: Spokesperson

Geneva: UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres expressed hope for a positive development in the situation involving PTI founder Imran Khan, said the spokesperson on Wednesday.

During a recent press conference, when asked about the UN chief's stance on the recommendation to release Imran Khan immediately, spokesperson Stephane Dujarric stated, “It’s a recommendation from an independent panel. We aim to see Mr. Khan’s current political situation evolve in a more positive direction.”

Imran Khan is presently serving a sentence in the Iddat case at Adiala Jail. Meanwhile, his sentences in two Toshakhana cases were suspended, and the Islamabad High Court acquitted him in the cipher case.

The UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, which investigates cases of governmental deprivation of liberty, declared on Monday that the charges against Imran were “without legal basis” and politically motivated to sideline him from politics.

The panel recommended releasing and compensating the former prime minister. This marks the second international disapproval of Pakistan’s actions against PTI and its founder within a week, following a US resolution urging thorough investigation of alleged irregularities in the February 8 elections.

On Tuesday, the government and its allies rejected the UN working group's recommendations regarding Imran's detention, dismissing them as a conspiracy against national institutions.

Earlier, Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar disregarded the working group's legally non-binding recommendations, asserting that the detention of the former premier is an “internal matter.”

Tarar clarified that courts acted in accordance with the Constitution and laws in taking legal action against the PTI founder. “Imran Khan is entitled to all rights under the Constitution, laws, and international principles,” Tarar affirmed, noting that he remains incarcerated as a convicted prisoner.