Imran plans jail-led protest, sons to join after return from US
Imran Khan with his sons, Kasim and Suleiman at Shangrila, Skardu in 2016. PHOTO: FACEBOOK/IMRAN KHAN
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founding chairman Imran Khan intends to lead a protest movement from jail against the 26th Constitutional Amendment, while his sons Sulaiman and Qasim will join the campaign after returning from the United States, his sister Aleema Khan said on Tuesday.
Speaking to reporters outside Adiala Jail, Aleema conveyed the jailed former prime minister’s message to supporters, claiming he remained resolute despite solitary confinement and harsh prison conditions.
“He [Imran Khan] said he is free inside jail, while those outside are imprisoned,” she said, adding, “People must come out for themselves, for democracy, for the rule of law, and against the 26th Amendment. Anyone who cannot bear the weight of this movement should step aside now.”
“جب ایک قوم اپنے حق کے لیے خود کھڑی ہو جاتی ہے پھر اس کو کوئی طاقت جھکا نہیں سکتی۔ میں جیل میں بھی آزاد ہوں مگر میری قوم باہر ایک ایسی قید میں ہے جہاں نہ آزاد عدلیہ ہے نہ آزاد جمہوریت نہ ہی آزاد میڈیا۔ تمام پاکستانیوں کو اب اپنی حقیقی آزادی کے لیے باہر نکلنا ہو گا!!
دو سال سے…Imran, she said, had asked that the protest movement should reach its peak on August 5 — the date that will mark two years since his imprisonment.
“After the 26th Amendment, all public rights have been effectively taken away,” she added, noting that their entire family would participate in the campaign while former prime minister sons will join the campaign after returning from the United States.
"Imran Khan’s sons, Qasim and Sulaiman, will first go to the United States to raise awareness about the injustices faced by their father, and then they will take part in the movement being launched in Pakistan. Imran Khan has been informed of this," he said.
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Aleema, accompanied by her sisters Noreen and Uzma, said she had been denied access to her brother, although other family members were eventually allowed to meet him. She expressed concern over his treatment in custody, describing it as unprecedented.
“What is being done to him is unlike the treatment of any other prisoner. He has been denied access to television, newspapers, and reading material for a week. His books are lying in the deputy superintendent’s room,” she said.
She added that PTI founder has been held in solitary confinement and has not been allowed to see his doctor for the past ten months. “They think they can break him. But they cannot,” she said, adding that she herself had also been barred from meeting him.
عمران خان کے بیٹے قاسم اور سلمان پہلے امریکا جائیں گے وہاں اپنے والد پر ہونے والے ظلم کے بارے آگاہ کریں گے، پھر پاکستان میں شروع ہونی والی تحریک میں حصہ لیں گے، عمران خان کو بتا دیا گیا ہے، علیمہ خان۔ pic.twitter.com/gSTWxdL32g
Earlier in the day, dozens of PTI supporters gathered at the Gorakhpur checkpoint as Khan’s sisters attempted to walk toward the prison. Police contingents were deployed, and party workers raised slogans. PTI Secretary General Salman Akram Raja was also present at the scene.
While Aleema was stopped near a local hotel and not allowed to proceed, other family members were eventually granted access. Former First Lady Bushra Bibi was also allowed to meet her sister-in-law Mehrunnisa.
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Separately, PTI focal person Niazullah Niazi Advocate and MNA Munawra Baloch were stopped by police at the Dahgal checkpoint. Senator Faisal Javed and Advocate Zahoor Abbas Chaudhry were also denied entry at Gorakhpur.
However, according to party sources, Barrister Gohar, Salman Safdar, and Zahoor Abbas Chaudhry were later allowed to meet the former premier.
Speaking to reporters before the jail meeting, Safdar said the visit was as significant as any earlier one. When asked why the legal team had not been able to secure relief despite over 700 days of Imran’s detention, he said, “We are fighting the cases in courts and doing our best.”