ISLAMABAD:
Heated scenes unfolded in the Senate on Thursday after Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) senators staged a protest over Imran Khan’s health, placing his photographs on their desks, prompting objections from treasury members and ultimately forcing the president to adjourn the proceedings.
The confrontation followed comments by opposition leader and Majlis Wahdatul Muslimeen (MWM) chief Allama Raja Nasir Abbas, who told the house that PTI founder Imran Khan had lost 85% vision in one eye due to alleged medical negligence while in custody.
In response, the Prime Minister’s advisor on political affairs, Rana Sanaullah, offered to the opposition that if a better specialist than those at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) were available, Imran could also be examined there.
The house met here with President Waqar Mehdi in the chair. Abbas spoke at the beginning of the proceedings, telling lawmakers that a report submitted to the Supreme Court confirmed that Imran had developed an eye condition that went untreated for three months.
According to Abbas, Khan informed the jail superintendent about his eye problem and was shifted to PIMS Hospital, even though the facility lacked a specialist for the condition. He said Imran received injections at PIMS but still suffered 85% vision loss.
“In Islam, compensation for the loss of an eye is equal to half the compensation for the loss of a life,” Abbas said, adding that the jail falls under the jurisdiction of Punjab and the provincial government must be held accountable.
He urged that Imran be examined by specialist doctors, Dr Aamir or Dr Mazhar Sohail, in Rawalpindi or Islamabad. The opposition leader said in the house that he was writing letters to the ambassadors about this injustice committed against the PTI founder.
Responding, Sanaullah, a senior Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader, said lawyer Salman Safdar’s report to the Supreme Court details all the facilities provided to Imran, including exercise machines and proper meals, in jail.
He noted that the Chief Justice had observed that both the reports of Safdar and the jail superintendent were identical. He highlighted that the high court report did not say that he had been denied treatment, adding that whenever Imran raised concerns, medical care was arranged.
“The best possible treatment available in the country has been provided. If a better specialist is available in the cancer hospital than in PIMS, Imran could also be examined there,” Sanaullah told the upper house of parliament.
Noting that the Supreme Court had allowed additional consultations with specialists if necessary, the prime minister’s advisor told the house that everything agreed upon with Imran’s lawyers would be implemented.
When routine agenda items resumed, Abbas attempted to speak again but was told by the president that more time would be given at a later stage. At that moment, the PTI senators stood up from their seats and started chanting slogans, increasing tensions in the chamber.
PML-N’s Nasir Butt objected to the display of Imran Khan’s photographs on the desks of opposition lawmakers, saying they had brought images of a person who was not a member of the house and had been convicted by a court. He demanded that the photographs be removed.
The president reminded members that Senate rulings prohibit slogans and the display of photographs inside the chamber. Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar said the Senate was a sacred house where even non-members were not allowed entry, insisting that the images be removed.
PTI senator Falak Naz Chitrali retorted that the government should not lecture them on the law, prompting Tarar to warn that proceedings would be suspended. As the PTI members refused to obey and continued their chanting, the chamber descended into disorder.
Amid the uproar, Senator Waqar Mehdi adjourned the Senate session until Friday (today).
