Minister for Information and Broadcasting Attaullah Tarar on Thursday dismissed social media reports suggesting any serious illness, affirming that the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder was in good health and “completely healthy.”
Speaking to the media, he said medical eye specialists had examined the PTI founder at Adiala Jail and later recommended that he be taken to the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) for a minor procedure. On Saturday night, following written consent, a brief medical procedure lasting about 20 minutes was carried out at Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS).
Tarar said the PTI founder remained stable throughout the procedure and was declared healthy by doctors. After the treatment, he was shifted back to Adiala Jail with necessary medical instructions. The minister emphasized that all prisoners are provided access to doctors and medical facilities under jail rules. He added that the procedure was conducted strictly on the recommendation of medical experts and with the consent of the PTI founder. Later, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi has announced a sit-in near Rawalpindi’s Adiala after he was denied permission yet again to meet incarcerated party founder Imran Khan. “We will stage a sit-in tonight. MNAs and MPAs of our party are arriving,” the chief minister said while speaking to the media in Rawalpindi.
Afridi arrived in Rawalpindi earlier in the day to meet the jailed party founder in Adiala jail. However, he was denied permission. “This is our leader’s matter, we will not let it go like this,” the CM said, adding that attempts are being made to deliberately worsen the situation.
KP CM Afridi demanded that the family members and personal physician of the PTI founder be allowed to meet him at Adiala Jail, as the former ruling party has raised concerns about the health of the jailed former premier. Separately, PTI Secretary General Salman Akram Raja said a petition has been filed in the trial court seeking permission to meet the party founder in jail. Terming the reports regarding PTI founder’s health concerning, Raja said Dr Asim inspected Imran in jail a year ago, and back then, he had no eye-related issue. “A whole year has passed, no one knows what happened in the meantime,” he added.