ISLAMABAD: The leadership of the PTI and the Tehreek Tahafuz Ayeen-i-Pakistan (TTAP) on Thursday unanimously announced that they would not compromise on the health of incarcerated PTI founder Imran Khan, and urged the nation to join the nationwide shutter-down strike scheduled for February 8 (Sunday).
The remarks were made during a meeting of the PTI’s joint parliamentary committee at Khyber Pakhtunkhwa House in Islamabad.
The meeting was attended by prominent political leaders, including Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi, TTAP chief Mahmood Khan Achakzai, PTI Secretary General Salman Akram Raja, and PTI stalwarts Asad Qaiser and Taimoor Saleem Jhagra, among others. The meeting was closed off to the media.
Addressing the participants, Qaiser said that the meeting was called because of Imran’s health. He said that representatives of 40 million people were in attendance and unanimously announced that they would not compromise on the health of the PTI founder.
“Don’t push us against the wall; otherwise, all options are open,” Qaiser said in a warning to the ‘powers that be’.
Talking about the Feb 8 protest, he said, “Today, we pledge that we will make the protest successful.”
He further said that the PTI would meet the Supreme Court chief justice at 10am on Friday and share the resolution passed by today’s meeting regarding Imran’s health.
Reading out the declaration, Qaiser said that the meeting, chaired by Achakzai, expressed concerns over the PTI founder’s health and demanded that his visitation rights be restored.
The meeting also expressed concern over the law and order situation in Balochistan, which witnessed a spate of attacks over the weekend, and showed solidarity with the martyrs who sacrificed their lives for the country.
Additionally, the participants demanded that steps be taken to ensure the welfare of the people in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Tirah and to rehome those who had been displaced. They also elected to intensify the PTI’s ongoing street movement, so that the nationwide protest would be successful.
The participants also condemned the arrest of party leaders and workers in Sindh and announced that rallies would be staged after Isha prayers on February 8.
They also showed solidarity with the people of Indian-occupied Kashmir and emphasised their right to self-determination. They also denounced the revocation of Article 370-A by the Indian parliament in 2019, which stripped the region of its autonomy.
However, the participants expressed their appreciation for the meeting between Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and KP CM Afridi, demanding that the province’s dues be cleared.
Before attending the meeting, Raja said that all issues, including the upcoming protests, would be discussed during at the gathering.
He further said that a statement by Achakzai and Senate opposition leader Allama Raja Nasir Abbas had been misunderstood, as they said that it would not be a one-day protest.
“They meant that the struggle for democracy will carry on even after February 8,” he clarified.
The development comes after the government last week admitted that Imran was treated at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims), days after reports regarding the treatment of the ex-premier emerged in mainstream media.
Speaking to Geo News, Tarar said the former premier, who is imprisoned at Rawalpindi’s Adiala jail, was taken to Pims in Islamabad for a “20-minute” medical procedure on the night of January 24.
He added that at Pims, Imran’s “eyes were further examined, and after his written approval, a 20-minute medical procedure was performed”. He said the ex-premier was then taken back to the Adiala jail with “important instructions”.
Subsequently, the Pims executive director, Professor Dr Rana Imran Sikander, said that Imran’s eye procedure was completed “smoothly” and that he remained “stable” during the intervention.
Achakzai on Tuesday wrote a letter to PM Shehbaz, seeking his “personal intervention” for the PTI founder’s medical examination by the jailed leader’s “trusted” doctors.
Meanwhile, the PTI has called a massive nationwide shutter-down strike on February 8 against the alleged rigging in the 2024 general elections.
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