Imran Khan hires UK lawyer to move international courts

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Chairman Imran Khan has appointed an eminent human rights lawyer, Geoffrey Robertson KC, to represent him in the international courts in cases related to his "unlawful detention and human rights abuses", it emerged on Friday.

Khan's decision to hire an international counsel — who has also previously represented Australian journalist Jullian Assange — comes at a time when he remains behind bars at the Attock District jail since his conviction by a trial court in the Toshakhana case on August 5 for failing to properly declare gifts he received while in office. The PTI chief was sentenced to a three-year jail term with a Rs100,000 fine — a judgment that kept him from contesting upcoming elections.

While the Islamabad High Court had overturned the said conviction, he remains behind bars due to his judicial remand in the cipher case till September 13, as he was booked by the Federal Investigation Agency for revealing state secrets under the Official Secrets Act.

The decision to bring Robertson on board was confirmed by the party on its X account, where it shared a screenshot of a post by the Doughty Street Chambers — a set of barristers’ chambers based in the United Kingdom.

"PTI Chairman, Former Prime Minister @ImranKhanPTI has appointed the eminent Human Rights Barrister Geoffrey Robertson KC of @DoughtyStreet Chambers to advise and represent him in international courts in relation to unlawful detention and human rights abuses," the post on X read.

Meanwhile, the chambers, on its international X account, also shared the same announcement.

In another post on X, the party mentioned Robertson's illustrious career as a barrister.

"Geoffrey Robertson KC is a Founding Head of Doughty Street Chambers. He has had a distinguished career as a trial and appellate counsel, an international judge, and author of leading textbooks," the post stated.

PTI leader and former minister, Sayed Zulfi Bukhari, also shared the announcement on the social media platform, mentioning the high-profile cases overseen by the human rights lawyer.

He added that Robertson has "successfully represented many hundreds of people who have suffered human rights abuses including unlawful detention.

"He successfully represented President Lula da Silva of Brazil at the United Nations Human Rights Committee in Geneva for the human rights and legal abuses he suffered by a biased judiciary in Brazil," Bukhari wrote in his post.

Robertson, he added, enjoys a distinguished career as a trial and appellate counsel, an international judge, and author of leading books on struggle for human rights and global justice.

"IA soon the injustices will be exposed," the post stated.

Last month, Geo News — quoting UK solicitor Rashad Yaqoob — had reported details of the international legal engagement by the former prime minister and some of his aides.

It was reported that the PTI chief had engaged Yaqoob and his organisation Human Rights Legal Aid Foundation (HRLAF) and Azhar Siddique, the Pakistan Supreme Court lawyer who is now based in Manchester to represent Khan on the international front.

However, PTI denied any such development, stating it has "no association/connection with the organisation HRLAF or Mr Rashad Yaqoob”.