Minister says Imran to be shifted to hospital amid opposition sit-in at Parliament House – Pakistan

Senate opposition leader Allama Raja Nasir Abbas said on Saturday that Parliament House had been turned into a “prison”.

“We have been inside Parliament since yesterday. We wanted to go outside but all the gates were closed,” he said in a video posted by TTAP on X.

“Parliament and its premises have been turned into a prison; it is condemnable.”

“We are not armed. We are standing here with nothing but our ethics and the strength of the truth,” he added.

The Senate opposition leader noted that Imran, like other prisoners, had rights and that “90 per cent” of Pakistanis — both here and abroad — were expressing concerns over the PTI founder’s health.

In a post on X, PTI General Secretary Salman Akram Raja said the Parliament House, Parliament Lodges, and the KP House “had been turned into a jail”.

Demanding that they “be set free”, the senior PTI leader alleged that the state was “terrified” of them taking to the streets.

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 “trapped” inside Parliament House.

“We also remained inside Parliament House the entire night,” he said, adding that the PTI and TTAP leadership was “exhausted from hunger”.

“The police did not allow dinner at night and now breakfast in the morning to be taken inside,” Akram claimed.

TTAP spokesperson Akhunzada Hussain Ahmed Yousafzai told Dawn 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.

“On the other hand, those who are in Parliament are not being allowed to come out. The sit-in will continue until TTAP’s demand is accepted,” he said.

According to Yousafzai, PTI Senator Falak Naz Chitrali was feeling unwell since last night.

Yousafzai, criticising the government for not contacting the protesters, said TTAP Vice Chairman Allama Raja Nasir Abbas was also attending the sit-in.

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.

She questioned whether the same time frame would have been given if it were the chief justice’s daughter or Nawaz Sharif. “The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chief minister is staging a sit-in at KP House and protesting against the government’s unjust behaviour. We are demanding that Imran Khan be shifted to Shifa International Hospital.”

She alleged that the government was waiting for further damage to Imran’s eye.

Gulzar further said that the police had manhandled the parliamentarians and other leaders of the opposition.

Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) spokesperson Aslam Ghauri, in a statement, condemned the “violence” against the TTAP protest outside Parliament.

“Respected members of Parliament and provincial assemblies were dragged,” he said, adding that those who had “trapped the protesters inside Parliament call themselves democratic”.

“Making a mockery of democracy, playing around with the Constitution and going against Islam are the actions of this government,” he alleged, quipping that the “fake forced government had gone mad in the fire of revenge”.

The JUI-F leader demanded that all detained leaders be immediately released.

He blamed the government’s attitude for the anarchy in Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. “Do the rulers want to spread this anarchy across the country?” he asked.

Addressing a press conference at the National Press Club, TTAP leader Mustafa Nawaz Khokar, flanked by former Senator Mushtaq Ahmad Khan and Awaam Pakistan spokesperson Dr Zafar Mirza, warned the government to take steps before things got out of hand.

They said that the government should not escalate the situation and eliminate political space for the opposition. They warned the government that it would not remain in power forever and urged it to go for dialogue and give respect to democratic principles.

They also demanded that Imran be immediately transferred to a hospital for medical treatment and that his family be granted access to him. They stated that the protest would continue until these demands were fulfilled.

Khokhar also stated that he was prevented from taking food inside Parliament on Saturday morning and called the situation unjust. He also said that opposition leaders inside Parliament House were confined and roads leading to Parliament Lodges and KP House were blocked.

Ahmad, meanwhile, demanded that Imran be provided medical treatment immediately. He claimed that direct responsibility for the situation was on the shoulders of the federal government.

The Parliamentary Reporters Association Pakistan (PRAP) strongly condemned the “obstacles, mistreatment, and rude behaviour faced by journalists” while covering the ongoing sit-in at the Parliament House, and demanded that “all journalists be immediately allowed full access” to the premises.

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.

“Covering 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,” it said.

According to the statement, “After 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.

“An attempt was also made to forcibly put Abid into a police van,” it said.

The association expressed serious concern over the incident and said, “Preventing 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.”

It further said: “If 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.”

The association demanded that “all journalists be immediately allowed unhindered access to the Parliament House and that effective measures be taken to prevent such incidents in the future”.

The PRAP strongly condemned the “inappropriate and undemocratic conduct” and reaffirmed its commitment that “no restrictions on journalists’ professional rights, press freedom, and responsible reporting will be accepted”.

Separately, KP Chief Minister Sohail Afridi urged protesters in other locations across the country to remain peaceful.

“Imran Khan sahib’s 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,” he affirmed on X.

He stressed: “At this time, those workers who have stepped up on their own without any official call — wherever you are, stay peaceful, and nearby workers, support them. All of you must remain peaceful going forward as well.

“Those opposing Imran Khan sahib, 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.”

The KP CM urged protesters to keep an eye on “all provocative individuals and continue the peaceful protest”. “Do not believe any negative or false propaganda unless it is verified by Imran Khan sahib’s family and party,” Afridi added.

“A mockery has been made out of his health, which is unforgivable. Right now, his best possible treatment is our top priority,” the chief minister emphasised.