TTAP to stage sit-in outside Parliament House after Friday prayers following revelations about Imran’s vision loss – Pakistan

The opposition alliance Tehreek-i-Tahafuz-i-Ayin-i-Pakistan (TTAP) on Thursday said that it would stage a sit-in outside Parliament on Friday.

The development came hours after the Supreme Court (SC) was informed that only 15 per cent vision was left in the PTI founder’s right eye, prompting a strong response from the PTI.

The information was shared in a report submitted to the SC by PTI counsel Advocate Salman Safdar, who quoted the PTI founder as telling him that “he has been left with only 15pc vision in his right eye”.

Videos shared by the TTAP on the social media platform X on Thursday night showed Senate opposition leader Allama Raja Nasir Abbas speaking to the media alongside the PTI leadership.

“After Friday prayers, we will stage a sit-in outside Parliament,” he said.

“We demand that Khan sahib be given full access to doctors whom he trusts,” he said.

“I am told that Imran’s personal physician, Dr Asim Yusuf, is at Shifa Hospital, as are Dr Amir Awan and Dr Mazhar Ishaq; these are the two top specialists in Rawalpindi,” Abbas said.

“We can trust them, so we demand that he (Imran) be shifted immediately and provided the right treatment,” he added.

TTAP chief Mehmood Khan Achakzai said that the opposition would present their demands at tomorrow’s sit-in.

“Our demand is just, and nobody will use abusive language or say hurtful things,” he vowed. “Only courteous and respectful language will be allowed.”

“Only God knows how long we will sit there, and we promise not to stand up,” Achakzai stated, inviting those who opposed injustice to join them.

In a post on X, he reiterated the same, saying, “A peaceful protest sit-in will begin outside the Parliament house from tomorrow.

“We will present our demands during tomorrow’s sit-in, and the sit-in will continue until the demands are accepted. If, God forbid, something goes wrong in accepting the demands, the government will be responsible,” he said.

‘State has committed a crime against Imran’

The PTI secretary general said Dr Arif, after examining Imran’s eye, advised that he should immediately be taken to the hospital. The former premier was administered treatment, including an injection, at the Pims hospital in Islamabad.

“The word used [in the report for Imran’s ailment] is occlusion of the retina,” Raja said, adding that Imran was quoted as saying that after treatment at the hospital, he regained 10pc-15pc vision in his right eye. “He is able to detect light through that eye, but he has not [fully] regained his vision.”

“This is a very painful and terrifying situation,” he said, adding that they had no information about what medical condition was affecting Imran’s vision.

He stressed the need for Imran’s medical examination at the earliest by doctors trusted by the PTI founder, family and public.

“The ongoing situation is unacceptable,” he asserted.

Pointing out that there were no doctors in Pims to treat ailments pertaining to the retina while Shifa International in Islamabad had two such doctors, he alleged that they were “deliberately” not asked to examine and treat Imran.

“So, several people are involved in the crime that has been committed against Imran. All of those names will be revealed; we will not hide any of them. Khan sahib has himself identified one of them, Abdul Ghafoor Anjum. A case will be filed against him immediately.”

Raja further alleged that the “Islamabad High Court is also involved” in this matter, questioning why Imran’s cases were not being fixed for hearing.

Meanwhile, “the condition of one of the eyes of the biggest leader of this nation is very concerning, and we have no information about his overall health condition”.

Despite this, Raja continued, Imran had directed his party to approach the courts. “We will not spare these courts. This nation and history will avenge the crime committed by these courts,” he said, demanding that Imran’s cases be fixed for hearing.

He also asserted that no reason was left to keep Imran behind bars and “freedom is his right now”.

“He will get freedom and this nation will get him freedom. We will fight his case inside and outside courts,” Raja said.

Imran’s sister, Aleema, said that the report had shattered her heart.

“We haven’t done enough for a person who has been in jail for two-and-a-half years,” she said. She said that the jail authorities knew about Imran’s health but failed to arrange adequate treatment for him.

“Imran Khan is in jail because our judiciary is not free,” she asserted.

Speaking to the media later in the day, CM Afridi said that they had “options” and they were considering them.

He announced that PTI’s core committee, political committee and TTAP leaders were set to meet later in the day to deliberate over those options.

The KP CM recalled that it had been over 900 days since Imran’s incarceration, but he had “never complained” about his health.

But now, he said, “We have called you and are doing our second press conference, which means that this is serious.”

“God forbids. If there were an irreversible loss, then there would be no use in raising our voices,” Afridi stated, adding that the PTI would take some “serious” steps.

Afridi branded the jail authorities’ negligence of Imran’s worsening eye condition a “criminal act”.

“It violates human rights, the law, the Constitution, jail manuals and is just inhumane,” the chief minister stated.

“When [former premier] Nawaz Sharif experienced health issues, the judiciary and our media fraternity collectively raised their voices, even though we knew that the tests or condition were false,” he added, recounting that despite this, the PML-N supremo was allowed to leave the country for medical treatment.

“This man is a former premier and the chairman of the country’s largest political party. He is in pain right now and has serious issues,” he stressed.

“We have to rise above politics and, on humanitarian and legal grounds, raise our voices for him,” he said.

Senate opposition leader demands formation of medical board

Lamenting that “timely and effective treatment was not provided”, Abbas also recalled that the nation was “constantly given the impression that he was completely healthy and had no problems”.

“If Imran Khan had been allowed regular meetings with his family, if medical examinations had been transparent and reports had been made public, then perhaps this would not have come to this,” he said.

Emphasising that the state was responsible for the life and health of any person in custody, Abbas stated: “Political disagreements have their place, but denying human rights and basic medical care is unacceptable in any civilised society.

“Delaying treatment, withholding information, and limiting access to family were not only inhumane but also a shirking of constitutional and legal obligations,” he contended.

“This was not just a matter of an individual; it is a matter of principle,” the TTAP leader asserted.

“If a former prime minister and a popular public leader of the country can be treated like this today, to what extent are the rights of an ordinary citizen protected?” he questioned.

“The state has a responsibility not to let political differences prevail over human dignity and fundamental rights,” Abbas noted.

TTAP leader Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar wrote on X: “For months in a row Imran Khan kept on complaining about loss of vision in his right eye but was denied prompt medical attention.

“This is not negligence. This is torture; cruel, degrading and inhumane treatment,” alleged Khokhar.

He highlighted that Pakistan was party to the United Nations’ rules on treatment of prisoners — also known as the “Nelson Mandela Rules” – and of the UN Convention Against Torture.

Khokhar, who is also a lawyer, argued that these rules “clearly prohibit such treatment” as meted out to Imran.

‘Not a matter to be trivialised’

While noting the SC’s directives regarding a medical team and contact with his sons, the PTI lamented that the “rejection of the request for a family member to be present during the medical examination, and the continued restriction or conditional provision of other basic facilities, is deeply disappointing”.

The party demanded that the ex-prime minister be granted “immediate and unrestricted access to his personal physicians and that, for specialised eye treatment, he be transferred without delay to a reputable hospital recommended by his medical team”.

Stressing that unhindered access to his legal counsel and the full restoration of family visitation rights were his fundamental rights, the PTI said, “To deprive him of these rights is tantamount to trampling upon justice and violating established international norms.”

The PTI urged international human rights organisations and global institutions to “take notice of the treatment being meted out” to Imran.

“A former elected prime minister facing prolonged solitary confinement, restricted medical facilities, and impediments to family and legal contact raises serious concerns under universally recognised human rights standards, and falls within the ambit of mental and medical torture,” the PTI alleged.

It also called upon the Pakistani media “not to treat this matter merely as a political dispute, but to highlight it as a serious human rights issue”.

In a separate post on X, the PTI said the report submitted to the SC itself mentions “rapid vision loss, visible distress, lack of full medical transparency, and restricted independent access” for the party founder.

“These aren’t social media claims. They are documented concerns,” the party contended.

It added: “A former prime minister in state custody is dealing with serious health deterioration while basic transparency remains a question. When someone is imprisoned, their health becomes the responsibility of those in power. Period.”

The party emphasised that this was not about politics anymore. “It’s about whether power is being used responsibly or ruthlessly,” it stated.

“You can disagree with a man. You cannot gamble with his health.”

‘Inhumane treatment’