RAWALPINDI: Political tensions escalated on Thursday as Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) renewed urgent demands to meet jailed party founder Imran Khan, citing growing concerns about his health and what they describe as unlawful denial of access.
PTI spokesperson Zulfikar Bukhari said Khan’s family and legal team had not met him since November 4, raising fears about his well-being. A party delegation again attempted a meeting on Thursday but was refused, with Bukhari claiming that weekly visits allowed under the jail manual were being suspended without justification.
The situation intensified when Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi staged a sit in outside Adiala Jail after heavy police deployment blocked his eighth attempt to meet Khan. Afridi accused authorities of violating court orders and warned that treating K-P “like a stepchild” was damaging national unity.
Afridi, addressing supporters at the Gorakhpur checkpoint, said PTI had exhausted all legal avenues and criticised the federal government for economic failures, unaddressed corruption, and rising unemployment. He also alleged that repeated electoral irregularities had eroded public confidence.
Despite a brief march toward the jail, Afridi and a small group of workers remained in protest for nearly two hours after being stopped again.
In Islamabad, tensions echoed in the Senate where PTI senators protested alleged solitary confinement and prolonged restrictions on Khan. Senator Faisal Javed said family and lawyers had been unable to see Khan for weeks.
Minister of State for Interior Talal Chaudhry rejected the claims, stating that meetings were allowed strictly under jail rules and under court supervision. He detailed facilities provided to Khan, including cooked meals, an exercise machine, spacious barracks, a TV, a physiotherapist, and a personal cook.
Chaudhry criticised the demonstrations as habitual and unnecessary, adding that recent by-election results reflected declining support for PTI’s protests.
PTI parliamentary leader Barrister Ali Zafar dismissed the minister’s remarks, insisting on an immediate confirmed date for the next meeting. He refused to submit a committee report until the issue was resolved, leading to adjournment of the Senate session until Friday.
Imran Khan, jailed since August 2023 on corruption charges and serving a 14-year sentence, remains at the centre of a heated political and legal battle. PTI claims his extended isolation violates prison regulations. Online campaigns using “#WHEREISIMRANKHAN” continued gaining traction.
Speculation about Khan’s transfer to a harsher facility surfaced in local media, though a senior jail official told Reuters that the former prime minister was in good health and no transfer was planned.
