ISLAMABAD: Parliamentary Affairs Minister Tariq Fazal Chaudhry said on Saturday that the government had decided to shift PTI founder Imran Khan to a hospital, while the opposition continued its sit-in at Parliament House over concerns regarding the ex-premier’s health.
In a post on X, the minister said, “Imran Khan has been given the facility to talk to his sons on the phone and considering his health, it has also been decided to shift him to the hospital and form a medical board.”
“The government prioritises humanitarianism and legal requirements. It is the government’s responsibility to provide facilities to every prisoner according to the law,” he said.
“There should be no politics on a sensitive issue like health. PTI should avoid baseless propaganda or political point scoring. The government is fulfilling its responsibilities. Instead of politicising this issue, show national seriousness and tolerance,” he said.
Shortly before Chaudhry, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said that further medical treatment of Imran would be carried out by eye specialists at a specialised medical institution.
“Pursuant to ongoing eye treatment of Imran Khan, further checkup and treatment will be done in a specialised medical facility by the best eye specialists.
“A detailed report thereof will also be submitted to the Supreme Court. Conjecture, speculations and efforts to turn this into political rhetoric and mileage for vested interests may please be avoided,” he said.
The development came as parliamentarians from opposition parties, under the banners of PTI and Tehreek-i-Tahafuz-i-Ayin-i-Pakistan (TTAP), continued their sit-in at Parliament House and KP House in Islamabad on Saturday for a second day, demanding that PTI founder Imran Khan be immediately moved to a hospital for treatment.
The sit-in was announced after the Supreme Court (SC) was informed on Thursday that Imran’s right eye had only 15 per cent vision remaining, prompting a strong response from the party.
The protest is being led by TTAP Chairman Mehmood Khan Achakzai and other prominent leaders, including PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan, Senator Ali Zafar, Asad Qaiser, Junaid Akbar, and others.
PTI stalwart and former National Assembly speaker Asad Qaiser said that although he appreciated the announcement by the government, the sit-in would not be called off until Imran was moved to Shifa International Hospital and a family physician was included in the medical board.
“It is unfortunate that for the first time in the history of Pakistan, Parliament was locked down,” Qaiser told media.
TTAP Spokesperson Akhunzada Yousufzai told media that taking the PTI founder to the hospital was a principled stance.
“We will not accept it if efforts are made to shift Imran to [the] Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences. Moreover, we want a family physician in medical board,” he stated.
However, another opposition leader said that it did not believe the statements by government ministers.
“They have contacted us, but they have nothing in their hands and cannot take a decision. We will wait for the final outcome,” he said.
In a post on X, Achakzai said that the sit-in would continue until Imran was “provided with medical facilities from eye specialists in the presence of his family and personal physician”.
Separately, PTI Secretary General Salman Akram Raja, in a video posted by TTAP on X, said they had been informed that a phone call between Imran and his sons was arranged and that there was “willingness” to shift the ex-premier to Shifa International Hospital.
“If it is so, then there should be no delay … why the delay?” he asked. Raja said that the delay was directly related to the “anger” of the party and its workers.
‘Parliament turned into a prison’
Senate opposition leader Allama Raja Nasir Abbas said on Saturday that Parliament House had been turned into a “prison”.
“We have been inside Parliament since yesterday. We wanted to go outside but all the gates were closed,” he said in a video posted by TTAP on X.
“Parliament and its premises have been turned into a prison; it is condemnable.”
“We are not armed. We are standing here with nothing but our ethics and the strength of the truth,” he added.
The Senate opposition leader noted that Imran, like other prisoners, had rights and that “90 per cent” of Pakistanis — both here and abroad — were expressing concerns over the PTI founder’s health.
In a post on X, PTI General Secretary Salman Akram Raja said the Parliament House, Parliament Lodges, and the KP House “had been turned into a jail”.
Demanding that they “be set free”, the senior PTI leader alleged that the state was “terrified” of them taking to the streets.
PTI Central Information Secretary Sheikh Waqas Akram said in an earlier post on X that the sit-in had entered its second day, adding that the opposition leaders were “trapped” inside Parliament House.
“We also remained inside Parliament House the entire night,” he said, adding that the PTI and TTAP leadership was “exhausted from hunger”.
“The police did not allow dinner at night and now breakfast in the morning to be taken inside,” Akram claimed.
TTAP spokesperson Akhunzada Hussain Ahmed Yousafzai told media 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.
According to Yousafzai, PTI Senator Falak Naz Chitrali was feeling unwell since last night.
Yousafzai, criticising the government for not contacting the protesters, said TTAP Vice Chairman Allama Raja Nasir Abbas was also attending the sit-in.
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.
Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) spokesperson Aslam Ghauri, in a statement, condemned the “violence” against the TTAP protest outside Parliament.
“Respected members of Parliament and provincial assemblies were dragged,” he said, adding that those who had “trapped the protesters inside Parliament call themselves democratic”.
“Making a mockery of democracy, playing around with the Constitution and going against Islam are the actions of this government,” he alleged, quipping that the “fake forced government had gone mad in the fire of revenge”.
The JUI-F leader demanded that all detained leaders be immediately released.
He blamed the government’s attitude for the anarchy in Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. “Do the rulers want to spread this anarchy across the country?” he asked.
Govt told to not escalate situation
Addressing a press conference at the National Press Club, TTAP leader Mustafa Nawaz Khokar, flanked by former Senator Mushtaq Ahmad Khan and Awaam Pakistan spokesperson Dr Zafar Mirza, warned the government to take steps before things got out of hand.
They said that the government should not escalate the situation and eliminate political space for the opposition. They warned the government that it would not remain in power forever and urged it to go for dialogue and give respect to democratic principles.
They also demanded that Imran be immediately transferred to a hospital for medical treatment and that his family be granted access to him. They stated that the protest would continue until these demands were fulfilled.
Khokhar also stated that he was prevented from taking food inside Parliament on Saturday morning and called the situation unjust. He also said that opposition leaders inside Parliament House were confined and roads leading to Parliament Lodges and KP House were blocked.
Ahmad, meanwhile, demanded that Imran be provided medical treatment immediately. He claimed that direct responsibility for the situation was on the shoulders of the federal government.
Reporters decry mistreatment
The Parliamentary Reporters Association Pakistan (PRAP) strongly condemned the “obstacles, mistreatment, and rude behaviour faced by journalists” while covering the ongoing sit-in at the Parliament House, and demanded that “all journalists be immediately allowed full access” to the premises.
A joint statement issued by PRAP President M.B. Soomro, PRAP Secretary Naveed Akbar, and other office-bearers said the opposition had been staging a sit-in at Parliament House since yesterday, in which the leaders of the opposition in the National Assembly (NA) and Senate, senators, and members of the NA are participating.
“Covering such an important political process is the professional responsibility of journalists, and preventing them from doing so is a blatant violation of the principles of press freedom,” it said.
According to the statement, “After covering the sit-in late last night, when Soomro, senior journalist Akram Abid, and other reporters reached the entrance of the Parliament House this morning, security personnel stopped them and pushed them away.
“An attempt was also made to forcibly put Abid into a police van,” it said.
The association expressed serious concern over the incident and said, “Preventing journalists from entering a national institution such as the Parliament House amounts to depriving them of their constitutional and professional rights. Turning the Parliament into a fortress and preventing the media from coverage reflects an undemocratic and authoritarian attitude.”
It further said: “If the media is prevented from performing its duties, the timely and accurate dissemination of information to the public will be affected, which is harmful to any democratic society.”
The association demanded that “all journalists be immediately allowed unhindered access to the Parliament House and that effective measures be taken to prevent such incidents in the future”.
The PRAP strongly condemned the “inappropriate and undemocratic conduct” and reaffirmed its commitment that “no restrictions on journalists’ professional rights, press freedom, and responsible reporting will be accepted”.
KP CM urges voluntary protesters to remain peaceful
Separately, KP Chief Minister Sohail Afridi urged protesters in other locations across the country to remain peaceful.
“Imran Khan sahib’s health is more important to me than politics. I will neither engage in politics myself over his health nor allow anyone else to do so,” he affirmed on X.
He stressed: “At this time, those workers who have stepped up on their own without any official call — wherever you are, stay peaceful, and nearby workers, support them. All of you must remain peaceful going forward as well.
“Those opposing Imran Khan sahib, who have subjected him to medical terrorism, are capable of going to any extremes. They will include their own provocative elements amongst us to divert our peaceful protest in another direction and target us.”
The KP CM urged protesters to keep an eye on “all provocative individuals and continue the peaceful protest”. “Do not believe any negative or false propaganda unless it is verified by Imran Khan sahib’s family and party,” Afridi added.
“A mockery has been made out of his health, which is unforgivable. Right now, his best possible treatment is our top priority,” the chief minister emphasised.
SC still has not provided written orders: Aleema
Earlier on Saturday, Imran’s sister Aleema Khanum criticised the Supreme Court for its alleged inaction to ensure its directives are implemented by the government.
In a post on X, she recalled that lawyers waited “all day on Thursday the 12th and all day Friday the 13th for written court orders” from the SC.
“The order should have been for Imran Khan to be shifted to Shifa International Hospital. Emergency orders for his immediate examination and treatment by specialist doctors under supervision of his personal doctors,” she asserted.
Citing information given to their lawyers, she claimed that CJP Afridi had left on an urgent tour to Punjab to “watch the jeep rally in Cholistan”.
“The urgent and pressing matter for our CJP (taking precedence over the extreme urgency to save Imran Khan’s eyesight in his right eye), we are told, is to watch the jeep rally in Cholistan. Ofcourse this could be totally fabricated information!” Aleema said.
She added that the CJP would be back in office on February 16, noting it was the same date he had set as the deadline for Imran to be seen by specialists.
Aleema stated: “Without a court order for the Govt, Imran Khan is certainly not going to receive any emergency medical care. The court order has to wait until the CJP returns to office on Monday from the Cholistan jeep rally!”
“Since CJP didn’t give a court order for Imran Khan’s treatment, people will have to support us to ensure there is enough pressure on the [government], so they will allow him to be treated at Shifa International Hospital,” she added.
PTI leader Omar Ayub Khan also said CJP Afridi and the “courts should have acted well in time”.
“PM Imran Khan must be given immediate access to qualified doctors and medical facilities in Shifa International Hospital Islamabad to save the vision in his eye,” he demanded.
“Every moment being delayed is criminal,” the former MNA contended.
American Dollar Exchange Rate