Protesters backing Pakistan’s former Prime Minister Imran Khan have staged a demonstration outside the University of Hull to express their discontent with the presence of the judge terming him responsible for Khan’s imprisonment.
Additional District & Session Judge Islamabad, Humayun Dilawar, traveled to the UK after recently awarding sentence Mr. Khan to three years in prison over alleged corruption related to the Toshakhana matter. The judge is attending a human rights and rule of law training course at the University of Hull in East Yorkshire.
BBC reported that Imran Khan, who was ousted from office the previous year, maintains that the charges against him were politically motivated. Supporters gathered at the university’s Cottingham Road campus on Tuesday, brandishing Pakistani flags and placards. They criticized the university for hosting Judge Dilawar, labeling him as a “killer of justice.” Some displayed the red and green flag of Khan’s Pakistan Movement for Justice party, advocating for the former PM’s release.
According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, the university clarified saying that it has been providing training for Pakistani judges since 2014 without any role to select participants. According to a spokesperson, the current cohort for the course was chosen by the Supreme Court of Pakistan and the high courts of Islamabad and Peshawar.
Imran Khan was arrested in March and was convicted last Saturday for failing to disclose income earned from selling gifts received during his time in office. Following his sentencing, Khan called on his supporters to challenge the court’s decision. A cricketer-turned-politician, Khan became Pakistan’s PM in 2018 but was removed through a no-confidence vote. His recent conviction bars him from holding office for five years.
While Pakistan’s government denies any political motivation behind Khan’s arrest or disqualification, Judge Dilawar stated that “his dishonesty has been established beyond doubt.”
