Salman Akram Raja calls government’s refusal to allow gatherings a ‘barbaric act’
PTI General Secretary Salman Akram Raja addresses a press conference in Islamabad on Wednesday, flanked by Tehreek-e-Tahafuz-e-Ayin-e-Pakistan Vice President, Senator Allama Raja Nasir Abbas and PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar. SCREEN CAPTURE
Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) leaders on Wednesday expressed serious concern over reports that the party’s founder Imran Khan was taken to a hospital last week without informing his party or his family, calling it “abuse” and demanding immediate access to him.
Imran has been jailed since August 2023 and is currently serving a sentence in Adiala Jail in a £190 million corruption case. Additionally, he faces pending lawsuits under the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA) related to the May 9, 2023 protests. The party had a day ago expressed concern over Imran’s health, alleging that prison authorities and the government were obstructing treatment for a “serious eye condition” and demanding immediate medical attention.
Concerns about Imran’s health were raised at a press conference addressed by Senate Opposition Leader Allama Raja Nasir Abbas along with PTI Chairman Advocate Gohar Ali Khan and General Secretary Salman Akram Raja.
Abbas said the leaders were concerned about the news circulating about Imran’s health. Commenting on the matter, he said reports suggested that Imran was taken to a hospital without the knowledge of either his family or his party.
“This is an abuse. They think that this will harm their family and the people, that is their mistake. The people hate them (the State) every day,” he said.
Raja also expressed serious concern over the reports and demanded an immediate meeting with Imran and Bushra Bibi.
“A person who is ill, for whom there are reports that there are serious concerns regarding their health: why was they taken to a hospital and why are we not being informed about this?” Raja said, citing a local media report that claimed that sometime between Saturday and Sunday night, Imran was taken to the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences.
He said the reports had amplified the party’s concerns many times over, adding that he demanded immediate permission to meet Imran. Raja further said he fully supported the same demand regarding Bushra Bibi, emphasizing that “the solitary confinement in which she has been placed must end immediately.”
Read: PTI expresses concern over Imran’s eye condition, demands immediate treatment
He further said that Imran’s personal doctors, who had no political affiliation, had repeatedly requested the courts to allow doctors from Shaukat Khanum Hospital, as well as dental and ophthalmological specialists, to examine and meet him, but these facilities had not yet been provided.
“We are deeply concerned by reports emerging about Imran Khan’s health. On this basis, it was demanded that his personal doctors be allowed to meet him immediately and conduct a full medical examination, but we were told that this request was also not considered admissible,” Raja said.
Terming the government’s refusal to allow gatherings a “barbaric act”, Raja said the party had approached the chief justice of the Islamabad High Court and asked him to use the administrative and legislative authority he held. “We asked him to order the attorney general that this meeting be held as soon as possible and that the doctors and their daughters be allowed to meet with them immediately,” he said.
Raja said Imran and Bushra’s solitary confinement, placement in punishment cells and restrictions on gatherings were unacceptable under any circumstances. “We have been informed that Bushra Bibi’s last meeting with her daughters, who are completely apolitical, took place on November 4. This situation is extremely worrying,” he added.
Referring to the protests planned for February 8, Raja said that the call for a Day of Mourning announced by the opposition coalition Tehreek-e-Tahaffuz-e-Ayin Pakistan was a duty of the entire nation.
“This is not a question of any personality or party. It is an insult to the nation’s vote. God willing, this Day of Mourning will one day become a Day of Democracy. We must all play our part in this fight,” he said.
Abbas also announced that a “black day” would be celebrated on February 8.
“Anyone who is patriotic, loves Pakistan and believes that the path the country is taking is wrong and leads to destruction, will register their protest on that day,” he said.
He added that a large-scale public contact campaign will be launched until February 8. “We will go to the people, we will talk to our neighbors, we will talk to traders on the streets, we will inform residents and citizens. We will contact transport unions, rickshaw unions and business organizations,” he said.
“Our students and youth will talk to their colleagues, women will contact women. The goal is to tell the public that the entire country is suffering the consequences of the atrocities that took place today,” Abbas added.
He said a lockdown strike would be held on February 8 through organizational contacts, followed by separate plans for Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan, Sindh and Punjab.
“At night, torchlight processions will be held wherever possible: in our neighborhoods, in our cities and wherever our voices can be raised peacefully,” he said, adding that all activities will remain peaceful.
“No one will be abused, no one will be tortured, no one will be insulted and no type of arson will be allowed. We are civilized people and we will not damage anyone’s personal or government property,” he added.
