PTI chief Imran Khan, seconds before falling off a forklift. PHOTO: PTI SOCIAL MEDIA
Khan, who as head of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has electrified the campaign with calls for change, suffered fractured vertebrae and a broken rib on Tuesday when he fell from a lift taking him to the stage at a rally.
"It is impossible," Khwaja Nazir, a spokesman for the Shaukat Khanum hospital told AFP when asked if Khan would visit his constituency to vote on Saturday.
"His doctors are not allowing him to move out of the hospital, though he wants to move around," Nazir said.
PTI spokeswoman Shireen Mazari told AFP: "I don't think he will be physically able to go and poll his vote, and the date for postal ballot has expired."
"His health and safety is more important than anything else. He has to be stable first because at the moment he is not even walking."
Doctors expect Khan to make a full recovery, but have not yet specified how long he will need to remain in hospital.
"In the next two days, we will be in a better position to inform you about how many more days we will need to keep him in hospital. But his recovery is much faster than expectations," Doctor Faisal Sultan told reporters.
COMMENTS (13)
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Why does he not cast his vote by post??
Why not......now he can cast his vote through mail......as Zardari has been allowed.
Papers are reporting that Zardari votes by post, why can't Khan do the same?
Don't worry IK, my whole family will vote on your behalf. Just take care of yourself. Your good health means a lot more to Pakistan than the vote.
Due to his uncompromising and unrealistic stance on forming a coalition govt, a good attempt by the likes of SQM to get him out of the way paralysed..IT was always a fear that such turn coats will hijack PTI after all the hard work...
doesnt matter if he votes or not. hes not going to win
doesnt matter if he votes or not. he is not going to win
@Acorn Guts: I do not think ECP should do anything, PTI should carry their leader in an ambulance to the appropriate polling station.
No its not same old. For such a historic election and for the man who has awakened the whole nation should be given the facility of casting his vote.
@Paindoo: Already demanding special arrangements for IK? I wonder what PTI will get up to if IK gets into office. Unfortunately, same old same old for Pakistan it seems.
@Water Bottle: Unlikely, having been through a similar injury (four broken disks), I know he will be back on his feet in 2-3 weeks but will require physiotherapy to ensure his disks alignment goes back to normal while the bones are healing. That's about it. Otherwise the ECP should make arrangements to let him vote. I am sure he can be carried by an ambulance to a local polling station where he can cast his vote and come back to the hospital bed. It isn't rocket science.
Looks like it's a pretty nasty fall. And going by this report, I think Khan needs more than half an year to recover well.
ECP please facilitate him in casting the vote.