By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: Leaders of Pakistan’s opposition alliance on Thursday vowed no compromise on the health of jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan and called on the public to join a nationwide strike set for Sunday to protest alleged election rigging.
The announcement came during a closed-door meeting of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party’s joint parliamentary committee and allies in the Tehreek Tahafuz Ayeen-i-Pakistan (TTAP) at Khyber Pakhtunkhwa House in the capital. Attendees included Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi, TTAP chief Mahmood Khan Achakzai, PTI Secretary General Salman Akram Raja, and senior PTI figures Asad Qaiser and Taimoor Saleem Jhagra, among others.
Qaiser, addressing the gathering, said the session had been convened specifically over concerns about Khan’s health, noting that representatives of some 40 million people were present and united in their stance. “We will not compromise on the health of the PTI founder,” Qaiser said. “Don’t push us against the wall; otherwise, all options are open.” On the planned Feb. 8 protest, he added that the meeting pledged that it will make the protest successful.
Qaiser said the group planned to meet the Supreme Court chief justice on Friday to present a resolution from the meeting on Khan’s health. Reading from the declaration, Qaiser said the meeting, chaired by Achakzai, voiced deep concerns over Khan’s condition and demanded the restoration of his visitation rights.
The participants also highlighted worries about the law and order situation in Balochistan following a series of attacks over the weekend, expressing solidarity with those killed in the violence. They called for measures to support residents in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Tirah area and to resettle displaced people there, while committing to ramp up the PTI’s street protests to ensure the nationwide action’s success.
The group condemned arrests of party leaders and workers in Sindh province and said rallies would be held after evening prayers on Feb. 8. In a show of international solidarity, the meeting backed the people of Indian-occupied Kashmir and stressed their right to self-determination, while denouncing India’s 2019 revocation of Article 370-A, which ended the region’s special status.
However, the participants welcomed a recent meeting between Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Chief Minister Afridi, urging the federal government to settle outstanding dues owed to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Before the meeting, Raja told reporters that discussions would cover all key issues, including the protests. He clarified a recent statement by Achakzai and Senate opposition leader Allama Raja Nasir Abbas, saying it had been misinterpreted as suggesting the protest would extend beyond one day. “They meant that the struggle for democracy will carry on even after February 8,” Raja said.
The developments follow the government’s acknowledgement last week that Khan had received medical treatment at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) in Islamabad.
Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said Khan, held at Rawalpindi’s Adiala jail, was transported to PIMS on the night of Jan. 24 for a 20-minute procedure. Tarar said Khan’s eyes were examined further, and with his written consent, the procedure was carried out before he was returned to jail with specific instructions.
PIMS executive director Professor Dr. Rana Imran Sikander said the eye procedure went smoothly and Khan remained stable throughout. On Tuesday, Achakzai wrote to Sharif requesting his personal intervention to allow Khan to be examined by doctors trusted by the PTI leader. The PTI has organized the Feb. 8 shutter-down strike to demand action against what it calls rigging in the 2024 general elections.
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