ISLAMABAD: The opposition decided on Monday to extend its sit-in at the Parliament House till Tuesday — one of the two court-mandated days for meeting incarcerated PTI founder Imran Khan — to “see the government’s response” to their call for allowing access to the former premier.
Imran’s family and associates had been barred from visiting him for several weeks until the Supreme Court’s intervention last week led to PTI lawyer Salman Safdar being allowed to visit him. Following his visit, he submitted a report to the SC, which said only 15 per cent vision was left in the PTI founder’s right eye.
This prompted a strong response from opposition alliance Tehreek Tahafuz-i-Ayeen Pakistan (TTAP), which began a sit-in at the Parliament House for the fulfilment of its demands for Imran’s treatment and examination.
The protest, which began on Friday, entered its fourth day today, with TTAP Spokesperson Akhunzada Hussain Ahmed Yousafzai saying that it would continue till Tuesday.
He shared this information with Dawn hours after a medical report was released following Imran’s examination at the Adiala jail on Sunday.
“We have gone through Imran Khan’s medical report, but we will not be satisfied unless his family and personal physicians are allowed to meet him,” he said, adding that the opposition had asked for Imran’s cousin Dr Nosherwan Barki and other family physicians to be provided access to him.
He also reiterated the opposition’s demand for shifting Imran to Shifa International Hospital, claiming: “We got a commitment from [Interior Minister] Mohsin Naqvi, [Parliamentary Affairs Minister] Tariq Fazal Chaudhry and [Prime Minister’s Assistant on Political Affairs] Rana Sanaullah that Imran Khan will be moved to the hospital.”
But, he continued, the government sent a team to the Adiala jail instead for Imran’s medical examination.
“The government deviated from its commitment,” he claimed.
Earlier in the day, routes to the Parliament House, which were blocked ahead of the sit-in on Friday, were cleared.
Speaking to Dawn in the morning, Yousafzai said it was a surprising step that all the routes had been cleared.
“First of all, we are going to have breakfast after four days, as previously we were eating only dates and biscuits and were being forced to drink tap water. It has been decided to merge the sit-in at the Parliament lodges with the one at Parliament House,” he had added.
The opposition’s sit-in was initially held at three places, including the Parliament House, led by TTAP head Mahmood Khan Achakzai and Allama Raja Nasir Abbas. The protest outside the Parliament Lodges was led by PTI parliamentarians, while at the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa House, KP CM Sohail Afridi led the demonstration.
The sit-in at the KP House was also ongoing on Monday night, in which KP Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Sohail Afridi has also been participating.
Speaking to the media there, he stressed that getting medical treatment under the supervision of his personal physicians and in the presence of his family was Imran’s constitutional right.
“Imran Khan is not an ordinary prisoner. He is a former prime minister and the leader of a major political party,” Afridi said, adding that barring the PTI founder’s family and personal physicians from meeting him was increasing “apprehensions”.
He stressed that the health of Imran Khan was a matter “beyond politics and must be treated accordingly”.
If Imran’s medical report released today was accurate, “there is no justification for denying access to his personal doctors and family”, he said.
On Sunday, a team of doctors examined the PTI founder at Adiala Jail and left the premises after around an hour, sources said.
The party rejected the inspection conducted without his family and personal physicians, terming it “malicious”.
Speaking to reporters on Sunday, PTI MNA Asad Qaiser said that his party, along with the opposition alliance, will continue the sit-in to pressure the government so that Imran can be taken to a hospital.
“We will not compromise on Imran’s health,” he said, adding that the government was testing the stamina of the party.
“We have decided to continue our sit-ins until our demands are accepted and our leader, Imran Khan, is taken to the Shifa International Hospital in Islamabad,” he told Dawn.
