ISLAMABAD: Parliamentarians from opposition parties, under the banners of PTI and Tehreek Tahafuz-i-Ayeen Pakistan (TTAP), continued their sit-in at Parliament House and KP House in Islamabad on Saturday morning, demanding that Imran Khan be immediately moved to a hospital for treatment.
On Thursday, the Supreme Court (SC) was informed that PTI founder Imran Khan’s right eye had only 15 per cent vision remaining, prompting a strong response from the party. Subsequently, the TTAP announced the sit-in outside the Parliament House on Friday (today).
The sit-in started after Friday prayers and continued overnight. Participants in the sit-in are demanding that PTI founder Imran Khan be moved to Shifa International Hospital.
TTAP spokesperson Akhunzada Hussain Ahmed Yousafzai told Dawn that the sit-in was continuing at both locations. He said it was unfortunate that even breakfast was not being allowed inside Parliament and added that no one was being allowed to enter the premises.
“On the other hand, those who are in Parliament are not being allowed to come out. The sit-in will continue until TTAP’s demand is accepted,” he said.
Yousafzai, criticising the government for not contacting the protesters, said TTAP Vice Chairman Allama Raja Nasir Abbas was also attending the sit-in.
The protest is being led by TTAP Chief Mehmood Khan Achakzai and other prominent leaders, including PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan, Senator Ali Zafar, Asad Qaiser, Junaid Akbar, and others.
PTI leader Shandana Gulzar, speaking to the media, said it was unfortunate that Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Yahya Afridi gave four days to have Imran examined by a team of doctors.
She questioned whether the same time frame would have been given if it were the chief justice’s daughter or Nawaz Sharif. “The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chief minister is staging a sit-in at KP House and protesting against the government’s unjust behaviour. We are demanding that Imran Khan be shifted to Shifa International Hospital.”
She alleged that the government was waiting for further damage to Imran’s eye.
Gulzar further said that the police had manhandled the parliamentarians and other leaders of the opposition.
It is worth mentioning that Achakzai had urged the prime minister to get Imran checked by doctors of his choice; however, the government has not given any response.
Imran will be taken wherever he prefers for medical treatment: Tariq Fazal Chaudhry
A day earlier, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Dr Tariq Fazal Chaudhry spoke to the media ahead of the sit-in outside Parliament. He was asked about the blockade during the media talk, at which he maintained that the opposition had a right to protest. He went on to claim that the “blockade was not from the government’s side.”
He held that the government has “repeatedly” assured the opposition that “no negligence will be tolerated regarding Imran’s health”.
“There is no need to deal with it politically; it is a medical issue,” he added.
Chaudhry, during his media talk, gave assurance that the PTI founder would be taken “wherever he prefers” for medical treatment amid claims regarding the incarcerated leader’s vision, stating that there would be “no negligence in the matter”.
“Wherever he (Imran) wants to go for a check-up, he will be taken. If he wants to go to Al-Shifa Eye Trust, then he will be taken there. There will be no negligence in the matter.”
“If the CJP recommends a doctor, he will be taken there,” Chaudhry added.
He called on the opposition to refrain from politicising the issue. “This is a sensitive issue; politicising it and misrepresenting facts is completely unfair.”
He added that the incarcerated leader would “now be examined by eye doctors or super-specialists, and we will try to ensure he receives every possible treatment available”.
Addressing claims of Imran’s deteriorating vision, the minister dismissed the reports and stated, “The issue did not surface when Imran’s sister met him on Dec 2 or on Dec 9 when he was examined by a medical board or on Dec 20 when the Toshakhana verdict was announced.”
“The complaint was not brought up anywhere before,” the minister said.
He further recalled that, “On January 16, it was recommended by a doctor that Imran be shifted to Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims) for an eye checkup. It is also on record that he was not shifted at the request of PTI, but the jail authorities and the government”.
He said that following Imran’s procedure on Jan 24, a medical report was issued by the doctors, “and then there is a ‘report’ by the lawyer” — referring to PTI counsel Advocate Salman Safdar’s report submitted to the SC.
He added that a new medical report will be issued soon.
The minister said that the Chief Justice of Pakistan, Yahya Afridi, was “himself looking after the case”.
