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ISLAMABAD/KARACHI: Federal Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Dr Tariq Fazal Chaudhry on Tuesday said the only way for Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan to secure his release was through the courts, making it clear that the government had neither struck any deal nor had any intention of granting him leniency.
Talking to the media at the Parliament House, the minister said Imran Khan was being provided medical check-up facilities and the government had neither neglected his treatment in the past nor would it show any negligence in future.
Commenting on the statement of Imran Khan’s lawyer Salman Safdar, the minister said that although he was a lawyer, he appeared to be playing the role of a medical specialist while speaking to the media. He said Safdar had himself acknowledged that the PTI founder had access to medical check-ups. The minister advised Salman Safdar to focus on legal arguments, saying that doing so could help secure his client’s release.
He said Imran Khan had been taken to hospital six times even before the Supreme Court issued directions for his transfer to a hospital. He added that when the need arose in connection with the PTI founder’s blood pressure, a doctor had been called from London. Tariq Fazal said Imran Khan had received treatment according to the medical standards required for his condition.
Turning to the political situation in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the minister described the PTI’s 13-year rule in the province as the worst period of governance, claiming that no meaningful development had taken place and no facilities had been provided to the people during its tenure. He said emergency would remain in force in the province until the desired objectives were achieved, adding that the government could no longer afford failure in its efforts to restore peace. He maintained that the state and its institutions were fighting a war against terrorism in the KP, while PTI had extended no cooperation in these efforts.
The minister said the imposition of emergency and governor’s rule in the province was the result of PTI’s own political conduct, describing it as a political “suicide attack” by the party against itself. He said the step was taken as a last resort. He further alleged that the PTI’s political tenure had consistently been marked by turmoil and unrest in Pakistan. He claimed that the politics of chaos and confrontation had now come to an end and that the KP, along with the rest of the country, was moving towards peace and development.
Meanwhile, Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari claimed that the Sindh government had constructed one million homes for flood-affected families in three years without any corruption, challenging international institutions and monitoring bodies to audit the project and verify the expenditure.
Addressing a ceremony at the Chief Minister’s House in Karachi marking the completion of one million houses under the Sindh Peoples Housing for Flood Affectees (SPHF) programme, Bilawal described the initiative as the largest housing project of its kind in the world, saying the Sindh government had surpassed Nepal’s previous record of constructing 700,000 houses. He said the provincial government intended to take the number of houses to two million by the time the project was completed.
Bilawal said the achievement reflected cooperation between the federal and provincial governments and support from international partners. Recalling the 2022 floods, he said he had witnessed the devastation in Larkana and other affected areas of Sindh and Balochistan, where entire settlements were submerged. Despite the scale of the disaster, the Sindh government had completed one million houses within three years.
He said the initiative had also transferred land ownership to previously landless families, with houses registered in women’s names and beneficiaries provided bank accounts. Describing it as the largest land-transfer initiative since 1970, he termed it a major step towards women’s empowerment. “We have come into politics to make people happy, not to rule over them,” he said, adding that the project had generated one million employment opportunities alongside housing.
Referring to the PPP’s slogan of ‘roti, kapra aur makaan’ (bread, clothing and housing), he said Pakistan would progress by empowering the poor and prioritising ordinary people’s needs over the demands of wealthy and business classes.
He said people looked towards political parties and governments to resolve their problems and make their lives easier, not to witness political divisions and confrontations. The public did not want to hear politicians talking about fighting one another or see the country’s system disrupted to serve the interests of business groups in Islamabad or Lahore.
Bilawal said Pakistan needed a political reset to deal with the economic crisis affecting the country and the wider world. He urged Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to take his coalition partners into confidence first and avoid opening new confrontation with the opposition, advising him to pursue understanding and cooperation instead.
He said public relief would remain difficult unless the government and opposition worked together. Political parties needed to cooperate rather than fight among themselves, as people expected them to address their difficulties.
The PPP chairman also referred to his recent meeting with the prime minister, saying they had agreed to work together on matters of public interest. He expressed confidence that this understanding would make it easier to undertake public welfare initiatives in future.
He thanked Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif for supporting Sindh, contrasting his cooperation with that of his predecessor who, he said, had provided no financial assistance during an earlier flood emergency and remarked that Sindh did not belong to him. He said the federal government had built 30,000 houses in Balochistan in three years, compared with one million constructed by Sindh in the same period. Bilawal said he had wanted to extend the initiative to Balochistan, but the federal government had assumed responsibility there.
Bilawal recalled that the federal government had initially opposed handing the housing programme’s funds to Sindh, questioning its capacity and proposing ready-built houses for flood victims. He had dismissed the proposal because its proponents failed to understand the province’s extreme weather conditions. He thanked the World Bank for trusting the provincial government despite opposition from federal ministers during the flood emergency.
Rejecting allegations of corruption and character assassination, he asked Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah to invite international institutions to monitor and audit the programme, expressing confidence that an independent review would establish that the funds had been spent on housing without corruption. “The project has succeeded and is continuing to succeed,” he said, urging political opponents to learn from the initiative rather than malign it.
Defending Sindh’s education record, Bilawal said 50 per cent of the province’s educational institutions had been destroyed in the 2022 floods and subsequently rebuilt, while a similar proportion had suffered damage in the 2010 floods. He argued that criticism over literacy rates and out-of-school children ignored the repeated destruction caused by natural disasters, which other provinces had not experienced to the same extent. He also cited the National Finance Commission (NFC) Award as one reason for the criticism directed at Sindh. He reiterated the PPP’s commitment to providing relief and easing people’s economic difficulties.
Meanwhile, speaking to the media near the Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi, PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar said the government also appeared helpless in certain matters. He said Imran Khan’s sisters were in jail but he hoped they would be released soon. He said what Salman Safdar has stated about Imran Khan’s health is not encouraging and they were concerned.
Barrister Gohar said the Islamabad High Court’s order on jail meetings was encouraging, and it was hoped that the court orders would be implemented this time. He said the absence of meetings with Imran Khan had increased political tension. At present, no talks are taking place. He said contact with the government and interior minister continues. “Maintaining contact is our compulsion because all paths are closed for us.” The government also appears helpless in certain matters; if political tension is to be reduced, dialogue is essential.
Gohar said they had no information regarding Sohail Afridi. He said if there was any shortcoming in their government, governor’s rule was not the solution to it. He said they were seeking an alliance with Maulana Fazlur Rehman. Meetings with Maulana were held on the All Parties Conference. Responding to a question, he said: “Launching a movement with Maulana Fazl is premature for now; Maulana Fazl’s politics and our politics are different but we can come together on shared issues.”
Responding to a question, Barrister Gohar said they were not boycotting local government elections and will participate fully; all parties take part in local government and the PTI will too.
