Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Secretary-General Salman Akram Raja claimed the party’s imprisoned founder Imran Khan had undergone eye surgery at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims), alleging the government kept details of his medical condition hidden for several days.
Speaking to reporters outside the Supreme Court on Friday, Raja accused government authorities of “misleading the public” about the former prime minister’s health for five days and claimed that he was being denied basic human rights while in custody.
His remarks came a day after Minister for Information and Broadcasting Attaullah Tarar confirmed that the PTI founder was briefly taken to Pims, where eye specialists had examined him.
A large number of PTI leaders, including Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi, and party lawmakers gathered outside the Supreme Court after they were once again denied permission to meet the incarcerated founder.
The PTI secretary-general said that Imran's family was not informed about the reason for taking him to the hospital. He said that the government acknowledged the situation only on Thursday, after which PTI representatives went to Adiala Jail.
Raja said that nearly 200 parliamentarians were present outside the Supreme Court to protest what he described as the denial of fundamental rights to the PTI founder.
He said he and senior lawyer Latif Khosa attempted to meet Chief Justice Yahya Afridi, but the meeting could not take place as the chief justice was not present in his chambers.
On the instructions of the Chief Justice of Pakistan, Raja said they later met the Supreme Court registrar, who is also a sessions judge and is fully aware of the situation. He added that the Attorney General has also been informed of the matter.
"We have decided to sit here," Raja said, warning that if the PTI founder is denied fundamental rights, “no one’s rights will remain protected."
Speaking on the occasion, CM Afridi said the PTI founder's family was not even informed that he had been examined "twice" in jail for illness.
"The matter reached the point of surgery and transfer to Pims on Adiala Jail, yet the family was kept completely in the dark,” he said.
CM Afridi said that Imran — whom he described as the country’s most popular leader — was taken to the hospital under the cover of darkness, accusing federal ministers of lying about his condition for five days.
Afridi also questioned the quality of treatment given to the ex-premier at Pims, claiming that the hospital does not have a retina specialist.
