Imran Khan’s political party has petitioned the court for his urgent release from jail, claiming he could potentially be targeted in Indian drone strikes amid escalating tensions between the two countries.
The 72-year-old cricketer-turned-politician has been lodged in the Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi for almost two years while he contests a series of legal challenges, mostly involving corruption charges, all of which he claimed were politically motivated.
Mr Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party said a plea has been filed on Friday in the Islamabad High Court to seek his release on parole during a “national emergency” as India and Pakistan’s military exchanged volleys of drones and shells.
Zulfikar Bukhari, a close aide of Mr Khan and party spokesperson, told The Independent that the first and foremost priority for PTI and Pakistan should be the safety of the party’s leader. PTI said they were hopeful for his release.
“At the moment, in troubling times like this, when we're at the verge of a full-scale conflict with our neighbour India, it's important that the most popular leader in the country – who the country unites behind – is released and at the forefront,” Mr Bukhari said on telephone from the UK.
“We are hopeful that, for the sake of national integrity and unity, the petition is accepted.”
Military hostilities between India and Pakistan reached the brink overnight as soldiers from both sides fired a number of drones and missiles, a day after Delhi launched missiles into Pakistan to strike terror hideouts.
The Indian Army said it “repulsed” multiple Pakistani drone attacks last night along its entire western border, after air raid sirens were heard in several Indian cities.
Pakistan, however, denied carrying out the attacks at India’s military installation. Islamabad vowed to strike back in response to India’s predawn strikes on 7 May that killed 31 people, including children.
India said it struck "terrorist camps" inside Pakistan in retaliation for a deadly attack on Hindu tourists in Kashmir’s popular tourist spot of Pahalgam last month. Villagers have fled border areas in both countries and many cities have been hit with blackouts, air raid warnings, and panic buying of essentials. India has suspended its prestigious Indian Premier League T20 cricket tournament after one match was stopped midway on Thursday and the floodlights switched off.
Mr Bukhari claimed India sent “about 70 or 80 drones into Pakistan” and “any flying object in the air is a risk for Imran Khan and other prisoners”.
“We are quite worried. Hence, we want him to be moved to a safer location.”
According to the petition, the PTI is seeking his release as “Pakistan faces unprovoked aggression from the (Narendra) Modi-led Indian government, threatening national security, and different drone attacks on different cities of Pakistan”.
The Indian Army said on Friday that Pakistani troops had resorted to "numerous cease fire violations" along the countries' de-facto border in Kashmir, accusing them of carrying out drone attacks.
"The drone attacks were effectively repulsed and befitting reply was given to the CFVs (ceasefire violations)," the Indian Army said, adding all "nefarious designs" would be responded to with "force".
PTI claimed the border tensions have the potential to endanger Mr Khan’s life because during his term as prime minister he openly challenged the Indian prime minister on various national security issues.
The two countries have a history of animosities that have rippled into full fledged wars and cross-border firings over the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir region which is split between Pakistan and India but claimed by both in its entirety.
They have fought two of their three wars over Kashmir since gaining independence from Britain in 1947 as New Delhi has accused Islamabad of flaming terrorism in its side of Kashmir, a claim repeatedly denied by the neighbouring leadership.
The ties between India and Pakistan during Mr Khan’s leadership further worsened after an Indian counter-terrorism operation.
In 2019 India conducted air strikes on what it said was a militant training camp near the Pakistani town of Balakot in response to a suicide car bombing in Kashmir's Pulwama area. Pakistan, which said the planes had bombed an empty hillside and not a camp, launched a retaliatory incursion into Indian airspace that led to a dogfight between the two air forces, leading to the capture of an Indian pilot.
Mr Khan also condemned Indian government at various United Nations platforms after India revoked the semi autonomous status of the federal Indian territory in August 2019.
