By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: The opposition Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party warned on Friday that it would not tolerate what it called the government’s “criminal negligence” in the medical treatment of imprisoned former prime minister Imran Khan, signalling it was prepared to launch a large-scale movement for his release once the Eid holidays end.
At a news conference, senior PTI figures demanded Khan’s immediate transfer to Shifa International Hospital in the capital, insisting that any additional delay risked “serious consequences.” Party leaders said they had pursued every available channel to arrange appropriate care for the PTI founder, only to see their requests repeatedly rejected by authorities.
Flanked by a phalanx of senior officials, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi delivered the sharpest rebuke. The government’s conduct was intolerable, he said, and the PTI stood ready to mobilise. He reminded the PML-N-led ruling coalition at the center that the party had deliberately “temporarily slowed its political activities out of respect for the holy month of Ramadan,” but stressed that its underlying preparations, passion and organisational strength remained undiminished.
“The PTI founder is not an ordinary citizen; he is a former prime minister of Pakistan, and the government has both a legal and moral responsibility to ensure that he receives proper medical treatment,” Afridi said. “The government’s refusal to allow access to his personal doctors and family members is a blatant violation of basic human rights and legal protocols.”
The chief minister also criticised what he described as politically motivated cases against Khan and broader government handling of the matter, framing the refusal of care as part of a pattern that the PTI would no longer accept.
Other speakers broadened the critique. PTI leader Junaid Akbar Khan pointed to what he called a wider political crackdown, including the disqualification of PTI senators and the suppression of party workers. He linked the domestic repression to what he portrayed as a failing foreign policy, citing “increasingly complex and dangerous dynamics” in Pakistan’s relations with the Taliban administration in Afghanistan. The continued mistreatment of Khan, he warned, was only fueling tensions that the current administration might soon find itself unable to contain. Any obstacles placed in the way of the former prime minister’s medical treatment were “unacceptable,” he added.
Senior PTI leader and lawyer Babar Awan went further, labelling the secrecy surrounding Khan’s medical condition itself “a criminal act.” Should any harm befall the former prime minister because of inadequate care, Awan said, those responsible “would have nowhere left to hide in the country.” The party’s demand for full transparency, he insisted, was non-negotiable.
Former KP finance minister Taimur Jhagra positioned the PTI as the sole major political force still upholding the constitution. The government’s hostile approach, he said, was widening the gulf between the public and state institutions.
MNA Shahid Khattak sought to pre-empt accusations that the party was exploiting a health issue for political gain. “We are not politicising a health issue,” he said, “but are genuinely concerned about the risk of irreversible damage to the PTI founder’s health.”
With Eid approaching, PTI leaders made clear they viewed the coming weeks as a temporary pause rather than a retreat, leaving open the possibility of renewed street agitation if the government does not shift course on medical access and the former prime minister’s broader legal situation.
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