Imran announces countrywide protests against 'sexual abuse' of Shahbaz Gill in custody

ISLAMABAD – Former prime minister and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan on Friday announced countrywide rallies against the alleged sexual abuse of Shahbaz Gill in police custody.

"I will lead a rally in Islamabad tomorrow [...] and rallies will be held in all divisional headquarters across the country," the PTI chairman told journalists.

Khan's brief presser came after he was barred from meeting Gill at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) hospital in the federal capital.

Earlier, Imran Khan Friday claimed that his chief of staff Shahbaz Gill was sexually abused in police custody.

Taking to Twitter, the PTI chairman demanded justice for Shahbaz Gill. He wrote, “All the pictures and videos show clearly Gill was tortured both mentally and physically, including sexual abuse — most too gruesome to relate.” 

Imran Khan said that the police humiliated Gill for breaking him down and that he now has full detailed information about the events regarding Gill’s episode.

“ICT police says it did not inflict any torture. So my question is: Who tortured Gill?” Khan asked.

The PTI chairman added that there is a general perception in the public at large and in “our minds too as to who could have carried out the gruesome torture”.

“Remember the public will react. We will leave no stone unturned to find out those responsible and bring them to justice,” he added.

All the pictures & videos show clearly Gill was tortured both mentally & physically incl sexual abuse - most too gruesome to relate. He was humiliated to break him down. I now have full detailed info. ICT police says it did not inflict any torture. So my question is: pic.twitter.com/iGNczYChnt

— Imran Khan (@ImranKhanPTI) August 19, 2022

Despite the police’s demand to extend Gill’s remand in a sedition case, a district and sessions court in Islamabad earlier today ordered to send him to the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) for a reassessment of his health.

“Shahbaz Gill’s condition is not fine,” the court remarked while announcing the verdict reserved by duty judge Judicial Magistrate Raja Farrukh Ali Khan.

PTI leaders have demanded the release of Gill from police custody and repeatedly claimed that he was tortured in police custody. Amnesty International has also raised concerns over reports regarding the PTI leader.

Shahbaz Gill is currently under treatment at the PIMS hospital after his health reportedly deteriorated at the Adiala Jail. Subsequently, a medical board was formed to determine the condition of Gill.