ISLAMABAD: As PTI founding chairman Imran Khan’s lawyer Intezar Hussain Panjutha was recovered on Saturday night, the party labelled the development as scripted and called on the Chief Justice of Pakistan to take suo motu notice of the matter.

The PTI also demanded that an FIR be filed against the attorney general, who claimed in the high court that Mr Panjutha would be produced in court within 24 hours, suggesting he was aware of his whereabouts.

It is worth mentioning that the PTI leader was recovered by police in Attock as he was allegedly being transported by his kidnappers. Police later shifted him to hospital.

PTI leader Shaukat Basra, while speaking to Dawn, said the party rejected the video footage and viewed it as ‘scripted drama’.

“We demand action against those who abducted him [Mr Panjutha] on October 8 from Islamabad, and those who made these videos are all part of the abduction and cover-up,” he said.

Mr Basra questioned how the attorney general gave a statement in the court that Mr Panjutha will be produced in 24 hours.

Hammad Azhar, another PTI leader, also dismissed police’s claims. “The scripted pathetic manner in which Imran Khan’s lawyer Intezar Panjutha has been ‘recovered’ (read released) is shameful. The traumatised individual was presumably forced to give a false account of his abduction even during his fragile state,” he posted on social media site X.

PTI leader Amir Mughal echoed these sentiments, rejecting the circumstances surrounding the recovery and calling for a judicial commission to investigate the matter. He added that Mr Panjutha had reportedly suffered severe torture at the hands of his abductors.

Published in Dawn, November 3rd, 2024