By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: Opposition leaders escalated their demands on Friday for the government to permit jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan to meet with his sisters and party officials, warning that failure to do so would prompt countrywide protests and further paralyse parliamentary proceedings.
The ultimatum came amid growing tensions over Khan’s detention at Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi, where he has been held since his ouster in 2022 and subsequent convictions on charges that his supporters call politically motivated. Opposition figures accused the authorities of flouting court orders on visitation rights, isolating Khan and fueling public unrest.
“We have stopped Sindhis, Baloch, Pashtuns, and Punjabis from taking to the streets against the government and its policies; otherwise, they would come out and create problems for the rulers,” Mehmood Achakzai, president of the Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party, said at a joint news conference with other opposition leaders outside Parliament House.
Achakzai criticised the government for reducing Parliament to “a rubber stamp,” adding that National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq was “taking dictation from elsewhere.” He highlighted violence in tribal areas, saying “people were being killed” there, yet the speaker had barred the opposition from raising the issue.
He also questioned Khan’s continued imprisonment and the restrictions on visits. “The chief minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is sitting outside Adiala Jail, but no one is paying any heed to his request to meet the PTI founder,” Achakzai said.
The warnings followed a dramatic overnight sit-in outside Adiala Jail by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi and other PTI leaders, who ended the protest on Friday morning after offering Fajr prayers there. Images shared by the party on social media showed Afridi and others gathered around a fire during the vigil.
From the jail, the group proceeded to the Islamabad High Court, seeking to challenge the denial of meetings with Khan. But Afridi and Aleema Khan, Imran Khan’s sister, waited in vain for an audience with Justice Sarfraz Dogar. Photos on social media captured them in the office of the secretary to the court’s chief justice. Speaking to reporters outside the court, Afridi said they had been informed that the chief justice “did not want to meet them.”
He lamented the lack of access to Khan since Oct. 27, noting that “no one had been allowed to meet his incarcerated party founder, or his spouse.” “We know nothing about his condition,” he said, adding that sisters, party leaders, lawyers and doctors had all been barred. Khan filed a contempt of court petition against the jail superintendent and others, citing a March 24 order from the Islamabad High Court that reinstated twice-weekly meetings for Imran Khan. The plea accused the authorities of “wilful non-implementation” of the court’s directives, particularly in denying her access. It detailed “persistent non-cooperation” by the jail superintendent and “ongoing political victimisation,” which had forced Khan and his associates to seek enforcement of visitation rights through writ petitions. “However, despite the clear and unequivocal directions of this honourable court, the respondents have failed to comply and have repeatedly denied access to the legal counsel, family members, and associates” of Khan, the petition stated.
Afridi recounted how he and six others had requested a brief meeting with Khan on Thursday, “just for two or three minutes,” assuring officials they would avoid politics or administrative topics. “We said we just wanted to find out about his health. But we were still not allowed to meet,” he said.
He accused the government of discriminating against Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, pointing out that chief ministers in other provinces used Pakistan Air Force planes for travel. “By such actions, you are creating division. You are causing resentment and distances to grow,” Afridi said. “You are worsening the situation yourselves,” he warned, adding that if conditions deteriorated further, “neither side would be able to bring it under control.”
The unrest spilled into the Senate for a second day, where PTI senators protested noisily, chanting slogans, banging desks and demanding access for family, doctors and lawyers after weeks of what they described as a “complete blackout.” Reports on social media about Khan’s health had heightened alarm. Syed Ali Zafar, the PTI’s parliamentary leader in the Senate, demanded a government explanation. “The tension level of the public has risen so high that there will be an explosion if the matter was not resolved immediately,” he warned. He said PTI senators would boycott proceedings until a minister responded, leading to a walkout.
Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Tariq Fazal Chaudhry assured the House that Khan “is in good health, facing no threat to his life, and is being provided with all facilities,” based on information from the Adiala Jail superintendent. He dismissed the social media reports as “baseless,” claiming they originated from Afghan media and were amplified by Indian outlets.
The statement did not placate the opposition. “We will not let the proceedings continue,” one lawmaker said. Senate Chairman Yousaf Raza Gilani rebuked the threat: “You cannot threaten like this.” Proceedings were briefly adjourned due to a lack of quorum but resumed amid continued chants of “release Imran Khan.”
Copyright © 2021 Independent Pakistan | All rights reserved
