New Delhi: English billionaire Richard Branson has called for the release of jailed former Prime Minister and PTI leader Imran Khan and Pakistanis can’t stop thanking him. Some even want him to lead a movement for his release.
In a post on X, Branson wrote, “This is not cricket. @ImranKhanPTI should be released immediately by Pakistani authorities. His arbitrary detention casts a dark shadow on respect for democracy and rule of law in Pakistan.”
He also shared an old picture with Khan—a suited Khan can be seen sitting alongside Branson— and a TIME article discussing Khan’s health condition. Concerns regarding the former cricketer’s health mounted after his ex-wife Jemima Goldsmith and others shared how they were barred from meeting him.
The article discussed how his lawyers and relatives have been denied access to him and Goldsmith’s concerns regarding their son’s father. Goldsmith had in a social media post highlighted how Khan was “now completely isolated, in solitary confinement, literally in the dark, with no contact with the outside world”.
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‘Use your plane to rescue Khan’
Branson, 73, is the founder of the Virgin Group. He is ranked 44 among UK’s billionaires and received his knighthood in 2000.
Soon after his tweet, American epidemiologist, technologist, philanthropist, and author, Larry Brilliant quoted Branson and said that he had discussed Khan’s case at length with Branson. He even warned of Khan’s case becoming similar to what Russia did to its opposition leader Alexei Navalny.
“As a physician and friend of Pakistan, I have watched with pain and sadness at his deteriorating health status while a prisoner in round-the-clock solitary confinement. To make it worse, he has not been allowed reasonable visits from his own physician. His health status alone demands an immediate release to hospital or other good medical care before it is too late. What happened to Alexei Navalny in Russia’s gulag cannot be allowed to happen to @ImranKhanPTI,” he wrote.
PTI supporters, meanwhile, wasted no time in appreciating Branson’s support. They cannot get over the fact that ‘One of the richest people in the world and owner of Virgin group has called for the release of Imran Khan’.
One X user wrote, “Yaar IK’s celebrity game is 100%. Could Zardari ever have friends that are this cool?” while another said, “Niazi (Imran Khan) spent his life among High-class international elites and royals and then there is NS (Nawaz Sharif) who spent his whole life sucking up to FA pass duffers who can’t even form a single English sentence properly.”
PTI’s official handle also shared Branson’s post on their social media channels, highlighting that in July this year, the UN Human Rights Council’s Working Group on Arbitrary Detention issued a formal opinion on the imprisonment of Khan. Their comprehensive 17-page report concluded that Khan’s detention violated the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR).
“Thank you, @richardbranson, for raising your voice for Imran Khan, who is not only a national hero, and an international icon but a symbol of hope for millions of Pakistanis. It has been over 400 days since he was unlawfully incarcerated under the worst conditions, despite his cases being overturned by the higher courts,” the party wrote.
Others however chose to get creative. One X user asked Branson to ‘fly one of his planes outside Adiala jail and free Khan.’
However, not everyone is happy. Some called the businessman a ‘clown’. Sharing a picture of Branson with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy, an X user wrote, “This Branson clown has a history of supporting comedians!!!”
Another said, “With your past…double standards when it comes to the Middle East, you people have lost all the moral authority.”