ISLAMABAD: Opposition parties will begin a peaceful sit-in outside Parliament House from today, Opposition Leader in the National Assembly Mahmood Khan Achakzai has announced, setting the stage for a fresh round of political confrontation in the capital.
The decision was announced by Mahmood Khan Achakzai, chief of the Tehreek Tahaffuz Ayeen-e-Pakistan (TTAP), late Thursday.
The sources privy to the former ruling party said that the sit-in decision was taken at a meeting of opposition leaders in the capital, adding that the protest would continue until access is granted to the jailed PTI founder and his treatment is ensured to the satisfaction of his party and family.
Talking to the media late at night, Achakzai, who was flanked by Majlis Wahdat-e-Muslimeen (MWM) chief Allama Raja Nasir Abbas and several leaders of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), including party chairman Gohar Ali Khan and Asad Qaiser, said that the demonstration would be held outside Parliament and would remain peaceful.
He also made it clear that the alliance’s formal demands would be presented publicly at the sit-in itself. “We will place our demands tomorrow (Friday) at the protest,” he said.
The Leader of the Opposition added that the sit-in would continue indefinitely until those demands were accepted. He warned that the responsibility for any mismanagement or escalation would lie with the government.
“If, God forbid, anything bad happens, the government will be responsible,” he said.
Mahmood Khan Achakzai, chief of the Tehreek Tahaffuz Ayeen-e-Pakistan (TTAP), said the protest would begin peacefully on Friday morning.
The sit-in announcement follows consultations among opposition parties, who have decided to rally lawmakers and supporters outside Parliament House, according to the sources privy to the party. Sources further said that members of the National Assembly, Senate and provincial assemblies have been issued directives to attend the sit-in, adding the party’s central leadership would convene the demonstration at the main entrance of Parliament House.
Imran, who has been in jail since August 2023, faces several cases ranging from corruption to terrorism, following his ouster from power through the opposition’s no-confidence motion in April 2022.
Severe vision loss, reveals report
The protest centres on concerns surrounding jailed Imran, particularly regarding access to him and his medical treatment, especially after a seven-page report submitted to the Supreme Court revealed that he lost approximately 85% of the vision in his right eye.
On February 10, the SC had appointed PTI counsel Salman Safdar as amicus curiae (friend of the court), directing him to meet the incarcerated former prime minister and submit a report on February 11.
The judicial directions came during the hearing of a case regarding the PTI founder’s living conditions in Adiala jail by a two-member bench headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Yahya Afridi and including Justice Shahid Bilal Hassan.
Imran experienced persistent blurred vision for months, which he repeatedly brought to the attention of jail authorities, but no action was taken until he suffered a sudden loss of sight, exposed the report.
A specialist from the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims) eventually diagnosed a blood clot that caused significant damage, says the report. His legal team observed him to be “deeply distressed” by this impairment, noting that for months he received only eye drops that failed to improve his condition.
Govt committed criminal negligence: Opposition
Reacting to the report on Imran’s medical condition, the Opposition leaders blasted the government.
Addressing a joint press conference, Senate Opposition Leader and Tehreek-e-Tahafuz-e-Ayeen-e-Pakistan — opposition alliance — Vice Chairman Allama Raja Nasir Abbas said that the PTI founder cannot see properly with the 15% vision he has.
Criticising the authorities, Abbas, who is also the chief of Majlis Wahdat-e-Muslimeen (MWM), said: “The government committed criminal negligence.”
He said that the state determines the rights of everyone, including prisoners’.
“We have a system in which people are not getting political and economic rights,” he added.
The Senate opposition leader also blasted authorities for denying meetings with the PTI founder in jail.
Speaking on the occasion, TTAP leader Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar expressed grave concerns over the report of loss of vision in Imran’s right eye.
He urged the authorities to allow meetings between the ailing PTI founder and his family.
Separately, Imran Khan’s sister Aleema Khan has raised concerns regarding the health of incarcerated PTI founder, alleging that prison authorities failed to address his eye condition promptly.
Speaking to the media in Islamabad, Aleema said she had inquired about the PTI founder’s health from Advocate Salman Safdar. “Today my heart is shaken; we did not treat a man sitting in jail for two and a half years well,” she said.
Aleema Khan claimed that former Adiala jail superintendent Abdul Ghafoor Anjum had been informed for the past three months about Imran Khan’s eye problem. “For three months, he kept saying that he [Imran Khan] could not see,” she stated, adding, “They [jail authorities] had been watching for two weeks that his [Imran] eyesight was affected.”
“[…] he [Imran] is in jail today because the judiciary is not independent.”
Aleema also rejected reports about any possible transfer to Bani Gala, calling them “all lies,” and said, Imran has made it clear that he will not bow before anyone.
Separately, PTI Secretary General Salman Akram Raja alleged that a criminal offence had been committed against the PTI founder. “A crime has been committed against him, and that crime was committed by Abdul Ghafoor Anjum,” he said.
He demanded immediate medical treatment by doctors trusted by Imran and his family. “There is no room left now; the people of Pakistan will move forward,” Raja said.
Salman Akram also called for hearings in the Toshakhana and other cases involving the former prime minister to be scheduled without delay.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi, said that the jail authorities turned a deaf ear to the repeated complaints of Imran Khan about his eye infection.
“The PTI founder was taken to the hospital without taking his personal doctor into confidence,” CM Afridi said, adding that the former prime minister was given injection in the hospital without consulting his family and personal physician.
