ISLAMABAD (AP) – Pakistan arrested former Prime Minister Imran Khan addressed court officials on Thursday and said that the parliamentary elections held earlier this year were stolen from his party, of which he claimed he was being victimized.
There was no immediate comment from the government on Khan’s allegation. Before his arrest, Khan accused the Election Commission of Pakistan of turning his party’s success into a defeat. The commission has repeatedly denied allegations of fraud in the February 8 elections.
“It was the biggest robbery committed under public mandate,” Khan said while speaking to the Supreme Court via video conference.
It was his second appearance since he began serving a three-year sentence for corruption in August, and it was the first time Khan had been heard in open court.
The hearing before the Islamabad high court concerned Khan’s appeal in a case dealing with corruption laws, which were changed in 2022 and which the former prime minister said were aimed at keeping him behind bars.
Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party received the most seats in the February 8 elections, but lacked a simple majority to govern. Khan’s party refused to form a coalition government, paving the way for his political rivals, including the party of another former prime minister, Nawaz Sharif, to form the government.
Khan, a former cricket star turned Islamist politician who has served as prime minister since 2018 was deposed in a vote of no confidence in April 2022. However, he remains a popular opposition figure and millions of his supporters have been waiting to see him since August, when he was arrested after a court convicted him of corruption.
His court appearance on Thursday was not broadcast live due to court order. He deprived Khan’s millions of supporters of the opportunity to see him.
During the hearing, Khan told judges that he was held in solitary confinement in a prison in the garrison city of Rawalpindi, where he is currently serving several prison sentences.
Khan also complained that he was not given the materials needed to prepare arguments nor was he allowed to meet with his lawyers. However, the court’s president, Qazi Faez Esa, prevented him from commenting on the elections, saying it was a different matter and the court was hearing a case related to changes in corruption laws.
The case was later adjourned for a week and the court instructed authorities to allow Khan to meet with his lawyer.
