Times of India : Imran Khan on hunger strike till judges reinstated

Imran Khan on hunger strike till judges reinstated

November 20, 2007

ISLAMABAD: Cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan will continue his hunger strike in jail till Pakistan judges deposed under the emergency are reinstated, his Tehreek-e-Insaf party said on Tuesday.

Khan is currently being held in the Dera Ghazi Khan Jail in Punjab province, where he was taken shortly after he was arrested in Lahore last week.

"Our leader's hunger strike will continue till all the judges removed by President Pervez Musharraf after the imposition of emergency are restored," Tehreek-e-Insaf spokesman Ahmed Awais told reporters.

"Imran Khan was treated very badly after his arrest and detained illegally. He has started the hunger strike as he had no other option for protesting against what is happening in the country," he said.

During a meeting with his sister Aleema Khan and brother-in-law Hafeezullah Khan Niazi yesterday, the former cricket captain said "sacrifices needed to be made" to resolve Pakistan's political crisis.

Khan, who is being held in solitary confinement, has refused to eat or drink since Sunday afternoon, his family said.

"He (Imran Khan) says it doesn't matter how he is being treated. The Musharraf government needs to realise that its time is up and if it means giving his life, he is ready for it," Aleema told reporters in Dera Ghazi Khan.

"Anybody familiar with Imran knows that physical discomfort can't break his resolve. If he sets his mind to do something he doesn't rest till it is achieved," she said.