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ISLAMABAD: Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said on Saturday that further medical treatment of PTI founder Imran Khan would be carried out by eye specialists at a specialised medical institution while the opposition continued its sit-in at Parliament House over concerns regarding the ex-premier\u2019s health.<\/p>\n
In a post on X, he said, \u201cIn continuation of the ongoing treatment of Imran Khan\u2019s eye, further examination and treatment will be carried out by eye specialists at a specialised medical institution.<\/p>\n
\u201cIts detailed report will also be submitted to the Supreme Court. Speculation, baseless news and attempts to politicise this matter for personal gain should be avoided,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The remarks came as parliamentarians from opposition parties, under the banners of PTI and Tehreek-i-Tahafuz-i-Ayin-i-Pakistan (TTAP), continued their sit-in at Parliament House and KP House in Islamabad on Saturday for a second day, demanding that PTI founder Imran Khan be immediately moved to a hospital for treatment.<\/p>\n
The sit-in was announced <\/a>after the Supreme Court (SC) was informed<\/u><\/a> on Thursday that Imran\u2019s right eye had only 15 per cent vision remaining, prompting a strong response from the party.<\/p>\n The sit-in started after Friday prayers and continued overnight. Participants in the sit-in are demanding that PTI founder Imran Khan be moved to Shifa International Hospital.<\/p>\n The protest is being led by TTAP Chairman Mehmood Khan Achakzai and other prominent leaders, including PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan, Senator Ali Zafar, Asad Qaiser, Junaid Akbar, and others.<\/p>\n \n <\/a>\n <\/p><\/blockquote>\n <\/span><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n Senate opposition leader Allama Raja Nasir Abbas said on Saturday that Parliament House had been turned into a \u201cprison\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have been inside Parliament since yesterday. We wanted to go outside but all the gates were closed,\u201d he said in a video posted by TTAP on X.<\/p>\n \u201cParliament and its premises have been turned into a prison; it is condemnable.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe are not armed. We are standing here with nothing but our ethics and the strength of the truth,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n The Senate opposition leader noted that Imran, like other prisoners, had rights and that \u201c90 per cent\u201d of Pakistanis \u2014 both here and abroad \u2014 were expressing concerns over the PTI founder\u2019s health.<\/p>\n \n <\/a>\n <\/p><\/blockquote>\n <\/span><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n In a post on X, PTI General Secretary Salman Akram Raja said the Parliament House, Parliament Lodges, and the KP House \u201chad been turned into a jail\u201d.<\/p>\n Demanding that they \u201cbe set free\u201d, the senior PTI leader alleged that the state was \u201cterrified\u201d of them taking to the streets.<\/p>\n \n <\/a>\n <\/p><\/blockquote>\n <\/span><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n PTI Central Information Secretary Sheikh Waqas Akram said in an earlier post on X that the sit-in had entered its second day, adding that the opposition leaders were \u201ctrapped\u201d inside Parliament House.<\/p>\n \u201cWe also remained inside Parliament House the entire night,\u201d he said, adding that the PTI and TTAP leadership was \u201cexhausted from hunger\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cThe police did not allow dinner at night and now breakfast in the morning to be taken inside,\u201d Akram claimed.<\/p>\n \n <\/a>\n <\/p><\/blockquote>\n <\/span><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n TTAP leader Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar also attempted to deliver breakfast to the protesting opposition members from the rear side of Parliament House but was stopped by the police.<\/p>\n Khokhar wrote on X<\/a> at around 11am: \u201cOutside the parliament to deliver food and water to friends inside. Wouldn\u2019t mind not being let in but the refusal to let food and water go in is highly insensitive.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s no other name for this heartless behaviour but \u2018yazidiat<\/em>\u2019,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n \n <\/a>\n <\/p><\/blockquote>\n <\/span><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n TTAP spokesperson Akhunzada Hussain Ahmed Yousafzai told Dawn<\/em> that the sit-in was continuing at both locations. He said it was unfortunate that even breakfast was not being allowed inside Parliament and added that no one was being allowed to enter the premises.<\/p>\n \u201cOn the other hand, those who are in Parliament are not being allowed to come out. The sit-in will continue until TTAP\u2019s demand is accepted,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n According to Yousafzai, PTI Senator Falak Naz Chitrali was feeling unwell since last night.<\/p>\n Yousafzai, criticising the government for not contacting the protesters, said TTAP Vice Chairman Allama Raja Nasir Abbas was also attending the sit-in.<\/p>\n \n <\/a>\n <\/p><\/blockquote>\n <\/span><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n PTI leader Shandana Gulzar, speaking to the media, said it was unfortunate that Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Yahya Afridi gave four days to have Imran examined by a team of doctors.<\/p>\n She questioned whether the same time frame would have been given if it were the chief justice\u2019s daughter or Nawaz Sharif. \u201cThe Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chief minister is staging a sit-in at KP House and protesting against the government\u2019s unjust behaviour. We are demanding that Imran Khan be shifted to Shifa International Hospital.\u201d<\/p>\n She alleged that the government was waiting for further damage to Imran\u2019s eye.<\/p>\n Gulzar further said that the police had manhandled the parliamentarians and other leaders of the opposition.<\/p>\n It is worth mentioning that Achakzai had urged the prime minister to get Imran checked by doctors of his choice; however, the government has not given any response.<\/p>\n Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) spokesperson Aslam Ghauri, in a statement, condemned the \u201cviolence\u201d against the TTAP protest outside Parliament.<\/p>\n \u201cRespected members of Parliament and provincial assemblies were dragged,\u201d he said, adding that those who had \u201ctrapped the protesters inside Parliament call themselves democratic\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cMaking a mockery of democracy, playing around with the Constitution and going against Islam are the actions of this government,\u201d he alleged, quipping that the \u201cfake forced government had gone mad in the fire of revenge\u201d.<\/p>\n The JUI-F leader demanded that all detained leaders be immediately released.<\/p>\n He blamed the government\u2019s attitude for the anarchy in Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. \u201cDo the rulers want to spread this anarchy across the country?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n The Parliamentary Reporters Association Pakistan (PRAP) strongly condemned the \u201cobstacles, mistreatment, and rude behaviour faced by journalists\u201d while covering the ongoing sit-in at the Parliament House, and demanded that \u201call journalists be immediately allowed full access to the House\u201d.<\/p>\n The Parliamentary Reporters Association Pakistan (PRAP) strongly condemned the \u201cobstacles, mistreatment, and rude behaviour faced by journalists\u201d while covering the ongoing sit-in at the Parliament House, and demanded that \u201call journalists be immediately allowed full access\u201d to the premises.<\/p>\n A joint statement issued by PRAP President M.B. Soomro, PRAP Secretary Naveed Akbar, and other office-bearers said the opposition had been staging a sit-in at Parliament House since yesterday, in which the leaders of the opposition in the National Assembly (NA) and Senate, senators, and members of the NA are participating.<\/p>\n \u201cCovering such an important political process is the professional responsibility of journalists, and preventing them from doing so is a blatant violation of the principles of press freedom,\u201d it said.<\/p>\n According to the statement, \u201cAfter covering the sit-in late last night, when Soomro, senior journalist Akram Abid, and other reporters reached the entrance of the Parliament House this morning, security personnel stopped them and pushed them away.<\/p>\n \u201cAn attempt was also made to forcibly put Abid into a police van,\u201d it said.<\/p>\n The association expressed serious concern over the incident and said, \u201cPreventing journalists from entering a national institution such as the Parliament House amounts to depriving them of their constitutional and professional rights. Turning the Parliament into a fortress and preventing the media from coverage reflects an undemocratic and authoritarian attitude.\u201d<\/p>\n It further said: \u201cIf the media is prevented from performing its duties, the timely and accurate dissemination of information to the public will be affected, which is harmful to any democratic society.\u201d<\/p>\n The association demanded that \u201call journalists be immediately allowed unhindered access to the Parliament House and that effective measures be taken to prevent such incidents in the future\u201d.<\/p>\n The PRAP strongly condemned the \u201cinappropriate and undemocratic conduct\u201d and reaffirmed its commitment that \u201cno restrictions on journalists\u2019 professional rights, press freedom, and responsible reporting will be accepted\u201d.<\/p>\n The Awam Pakistan party directed all leaders to immediately participate in the sit-in, while the party\u2019s leadership departed for the venue to join the protest, according to a party statement.<\/p>\n Dr Zafar Mirza, the party\u2019s central spokesperson, will represent the Awaam Pakistan at the sit-in, while party leaders from Rawalpindi and Islamabad are also accompanying him.<\/p>\n \u201cThe supremacy of the Constitution and the protection of democratic values are our top priorities,\u201d Mirza said, adding that the Islamabad police and administration had \u201cturned the Red Zone into a prison\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cThe government has placed barriers on all routes leading to KP House [in Islamabad].\u201d<\/p>\n Separately, KP Chief Minister Sohail Afridi urged protesters in other locations across the country to remain peaceful.<\/p>\n \u201cImran Khan sahib<\/em>\u2019s health is more important to me than politics. I will neither engage in politics myself over his health nor allow anyone else to do so,\u201d he affirmed on X.<\/p>\n \n <\/a>\n <\/p><\/blockquote>\n <\/span><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n He stressed: \u201cAt this time, those workers who have stepped up on their own without any official call \u2014 wherever you are, stay peaceful, and nearby workers, support them. All of you must remain peaceful going forward as well.<\/p>\n \u201cThose opposing Imran Khan sahib<\/em>, who have subjected him to medical terrorism, are capable of going to any extremes. They will include their own provocative elements amongst us to divert our peaceful protest in another direction and target us.\u201d<\/p>\n The KP CM urged protesters to keep an eye on \u201call provocative individuals and continue the peaceful protest\u201d. \u201cDo not believe any negative or false propaganda unless it is verified by Imran Khan sahib<\/em>\u2019s family and party,\u201d Afridi added.<\/p>\n \u201cA mockery has been made out of his health, which is unforgivable. Right now, his best possible treatment is our top priority,\u201d the chief minister emphasised.<\/p>\n \n <\/a>\n <\/p><\/blockquote>\n <\/span><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n Earlier on Saturday, Imran\u2019s sister Aleema Khanum criticised the Supreme Court for its alleged inaction to ensure its directives<\/a> are implemented by the government.<\/p>\n In a post on X, she recalled that lawyers waited \u201call day on Thursday the 12th and all day Friday the 13th for written court orders\u201d from the SC.<\/p>\n \u201cThe order should have been for Imran Khan to be shifted to Shifa International Hospital. Emergency orders for his immediate examination and treatment by specialist doctors under supervision of his personal doctors,\u201d she asserted.<\/p>\n Citing information given to their lawyers, she claimed that CJP Afridi had left on an urgent tour to Punjab to \u201cwatch the jeep rally in Cholistan\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cThe urgent and pressing matter for our CJP (taking precedence over the extreme urgency to save Imran Khan\u2019s eyesight in his right eye), we are told, is to watch the jeep rally in Cholistan. Ofcourse this could be totally fabricated information!\u201d Aleema said.<\/p>\n \n <\/a>\n <\/p><\/blockquote>\n <\/span><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n She added that the CJP would be back in office on February 16, noting it was the same date he had set as the deadline for Imran to be seen by specialists.<\/p>\n Aleema stated: \u201cWithout a court order for the Govt, Imran Khan is certainly not going to receive any emergency medical care. The court order has to wait until the CJP returns to office on Monday from the Cholistan jeep rally!\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSince CJP didn\u2019t give a court order for Imran Khan\u2019s treatment, people will have to support us to ensure there is enough pressure on the [government], so they will allow him to be treated at Shifa International Hospital,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n PTI leader Omar Ayub Khan also said CJP Afridi and the \u201ccourts should have acted well in time\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cPM Imran Khan must be given immediate access to qualified doctors and medical facilities in Shifa International Hospital Islamabad to save the vision in his eye,\u201d he demanded.<\/p>\n \u201cEvery moment being delayed is criminal,\u201d the former MNA contended.<\/p>\n \n <\/a>\n <\/p><\/blockquote>\n <\/span><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n In a video statement issued on Friday night, Imran\u2019s personal physician, Dr Faisal Sultan, suggested that the PTI founder be moved to Shifa International Hospital in Islamabad so that the required expert care could be provided to him.<\/p>\n Dr Sultan, who is also the chief executive officer (CEO) of Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital (SKMCH), referred to media reports about Imran losing 85 per cent of vision in his right eye.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is obviously a matter of grave concern, but also lends great importance to the timeliness of treatment. In addition to timely and urgent treatment, it is crucially important that such treatment may be delivered by specialists in the field of retinal surgery,\u201d the physician stressed.<\/p>\n He explained that retina was a subspecialty of ophthalmology, and such specialists are especially trained and qualified to manage this kind of illness in the eye.<\/p>\n \u201cThe other important aspect to consider is that many times retinal problems are a reflection of underlying illnesses, which also require management, diagnosis, and review. This is not only to make sure that the existing afflicted eye can be improved and, you know, vision restored if possible, but also that the good eye is maintained in its present health and is safeguarded,\u201d Dr Sultan said.<\/p>\n He further emphasised that such specialists need to be able to \u201cwork in an environment, a hospital, or a centre that maintains high standards of care, and also has the right equipment and infrastructure to provide the sophisticated and coordinated care required by Mr Imran Khan at this time\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cOne such institution is the Shifa International Hospital in Islamabad, which is a joint internationally certified hospital, and I believe that they do have the right infrastructure and the specialists to be able to provide this care at high quality and at excellence, which is to ensure that Mr Khan receives the care that he requires at this time.\u201d<\/p>\n Dr Sultan expressed an additional request to the authorities, which was that he, Dr Asim Yousuf, or both of them be included whenever a medical team is formed for Imran\u2019s care, to help provide all the necessary insight into the ex-premier\u2019s medical history.<\/p>\n \u201cThis information and insight into his health care will provide additional value and put together the holistic team that is required at this time to deal with this very challenging problem,\u201d he highlighted.<\/p>\n A day earlier, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Dr Tariq Fazal Chaudhry spoke to the media ahead of the sit-in outside Parliament. He was asked about the blockade during the media talk, at which he maintained that the opposition had a right to protest. He went on to claim that the \u201cblockade was not from the government\u2019s side.\u201d<\/p>\n He held that the government has \u201crepeatedly\u201d assured the opposition that \u201cno negligence will be tolerated regarding Imran\u2019s health\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cThere is no need to deal with it politically; it is a medical issue,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n Chaudhry, during his media talk, gave assurance that the PTI founder would be taken \u201cwherever he prefers\u201d for medical treatment amid claims regarding the incarcerated leader\u2019s vision, stating that there would be \u201cno negligence in the matter\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cWherever he (Imran) wants to go for a check-up, he will be taken. If he wants to go to Al-Shifa Eye Trust, then he will be taken there. There will be no negligence in the matter.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIf the CJP recommends a doctor, he will be taken there,\u201d Chaudhry added.<\/p>\n He called on the opposition to refrain from politicising the issue. \u201cThis is a sensitive issue; politicising it and misrepresenting facts is completely unfair.\u201d<\/p>\n He added that the incarcerated leader would \u201cnow be examined by eye doctors or super-specialists, and we will try to ensure he receives every possible treatment available\u201d.<\/p>\n Addressing claims of Imran\u2019s deteriorating vision, the minister dismissed the reports and stated, \u201cThe issue did not surface when Imran\u2019s sister met him on Dec 2 or on Dec 9 when he was examined by a medical board or on Dec 20 when the Toshakhana verdict was announced.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe complaint was not brought up anywhere before,\u201d the minister said.<\/p>\n He further recalled that, \u201cOn January 16, it was recommended by a doctor that Imran be shifted to Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims) for an eye checkup. It is also on record that he was not shifted at the request of PTI, but the jail authorities and the government\u201d.<\/p>\n He said that following Imran\u2019s procedure on Jan 24, a medical report was issued by the doctors, \u201cand then there is a \u2018report\u2019 by the lawyer\u201d \u2014 referring to PTI counsel Advocate Salman Safdar\u2019s report submitted to the SC.<\/p>\n He added that a new medical report will be issued soon.<\/p>\n The minister said that the Chief Justice of Pakistan, Yahya Afridi, was \u201chimself looking after the case\u201d.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/a>Reporters decry mistreatment<\/h2>\n
<\/a>Awaam Pakistan leaders to join sit-in<\/h2>\n
<\/a>KP CM urges voluntary protesters to remain peaceful<\/h2>\n
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/a>SC still has not provided written orders: Aleema<\/h2>\n
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/a>Imran should be moved to Shifa Hospital: personal physician<\/h2>\n
\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/a>Imran will be taken wherever he prefers for medical treatment: minister<\/h2>\n
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