Ex-PM Khan refuses to undergo polygraph, voice matching tests

PTI founder Imran Khan gestures during a press conference in Islamabad on April 23. AFP

Ex-PM Khan refuses to undergo polygraph, voice matching tests

DSP Javed Asif then appealed to Khan, assuring him that police would ensure justice.

The IHC chief justice remarked that police have become a “police state” Pti’s worker arrest case. 

RAWALPINDI  (  WEB NEWS  )

Former prime minister Imran Khan has refused to undergo polygraph, voice matching, and photogrammetry tests as Lahore police asked him different questions during its investigations into the May 9 incidents case.

“I am under investigation by many institutions and will not take any tests for now. I will give the police time later regarding different tests,” he said while refusing the Punjab Forensic Science Agency experts for aforementioned tests.

The first phase of the investigation by the Lahore police against Khan has been completed.

The investigative team led by DSP Javed Asif visited Adiala Jail where the former prime minister is detained. Initially, the PTI chairman refused to answer the questions, expressing a lack of trust in the police.

DSP Javed Asif then appealed to Khan, assuring him that police would ensure justice. After this assurance, the PTI founder answered the police’s questions for about 15 minutes.

The development comes as the authorities continue their investigation into the events of May 9, when violent protests erupted across the country following the PTI founder’s arrest.

Khan has been imprisoned at the Adiala Jail for almost a year, facing convictions in four cases, including two Toshakhana references, the cipher case, and the Iddat case, in which his wife, Bushra Bibi, is also jailed.

An Islamabad district and sessions court had recently accepted the appeals filed by Khan and his spouse against their conviction in the Iddat case.

On Monday, an accountability court in Islamabad extended the physical remand of Khan and his spouse Bushra Bibi for seven days in a new Toshakhana case.

The IHC chief justice remarked that police have become a “police state”

Islamabad High Court Chief Justice Aamer Farooq has observed that 10 to 12 people out of 32 PTI workers were arrested while the rest were kept in illegal detention during the raid on the PTI secretariat.

He said this while hearing a plea for their release on Tuesday. The IHC chief justice remarked that police have become a “police state” and he would decide on the matter of illegal detentions without arrest, and appropriate orders would be issued.

The additional attorney general informed the court that some are arrested, some are residing, two women and nine men are arrested, and six women have been released on personal bonds.

The court inquired from Ali Bukhari’s lawyer about who was taken away and who was released. To this, Bukhari replied that some were released in the morning, but two women were still missing.

The court has raised significant questions about the legality of recent arrests made by authorities. The court stated that it was unacceptable to arrest individuals without proper evidence, noting that the entire staff of the PTI Secretariat should not have been detained without justification.

The court further remarked that if someone was waiting outside the Secretariat, they too were apprehended, indicating a concerning pattern of indiscriminate arrests. The court questioned whether all 32 individuals were arrested and demanded to know the status of the 21 people who were held for 10 hours before being released.

While addressing the authorities, the court stated that they could not simply lock the doors of the court and prevent anyone from leaving without a proper order, as this would be considered abduction.

The court also questioned the actions of the FIA, stating that if their legal counsel had advised them on the matter, the court may consider revoking the license of the lawyer involved.

The court emphasized that the rule of law must be upheld and that all personal belongings seized from the individuals must be returned to them. The court warned that it will not tolerate the creation of a “police state” and will issue appropriate orders regarding the unlawful detentions.