No compromise on Imran's health: Jan

K-P minister criticises denial of PTI founder's meeting with sisters

PESHAWAR:

Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Minister for Information and Public Relations Shafi Jan on Tuesday said that the large participation of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf parliamentarians in front of the Supreme Court once again demonstrated that the PTI leadership and workers will make no compromise whatsoever on the health and fundamental rights of their founding chairman, Imran Khan.

He said that the reports regarding Imran Khan's health are extremely concerning. Denying a former prime minister and founding chairman of one of the country's major political parties his fundamental constitutional and legal rights is completely unacceptable. Imran Khan has been unjustly kept in custody in what the PTI considers politically motivated and fabricated cases, he added.

The information minister said that the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf would continue its constitutional, legal and political struggle for the protection of Imran Khan's fundamental rights, his health and the provision of appropriate medical facilities. "We will not remain silent on this matter," he said.

He said that Imran Khan's sisters were once again denied permission to meet him today, which is deeply regrettable. Restrictions on meetings with Imran Khan constitute a blatant violation not only of the Constitution and the law but also of court orders, he added.

The minister said that Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi had already made it clear that if Imran Khan's sisters were not allowed to meet him, PTI parliamentarians would gather outside Adiala Jail on Thursday.

Jan said that the demands for providing Imran Khan with the best possible medical facilities, ensuring access to his personal physicians, allowing meetings with his family, and restoring his fundamental rights are clear and legitimate. These demands should not be given a political color; rather, they should be viewed in the context of humanitarian, constitutional and legal rights, he added.

He said that justice demands that the petitions concerning Imran Khan's health and meetings with him should be fixed for hearing at the earliest.

Meanwhile in an interview to private TV channel on Monday, K-P chief minister Sohail Afridi had said the PTI had no option but to protest as its grievances were not being heard by the authorities.

"People say that the PTI does politics of chaos, unrest and protests; however, it would not have resorted to these if it had been heard by the authorities."

He claimed Imran had been jailed unlawfully. "The PTI founder is in solitary confinement and denied his rights. No one is allowed to meet him - not me, his family, lawyers or personal physicians."

After exhausting all constitutional and legal means, he said, the PTI had no other option but to protest.

"We are holding a peaceful protest. The Constitution allows us to do so, so the authorities will have to hear us."