Uzma Khan sister of PTI founder Imran Khan, said on Tuesday her incarcerated brother was “perfectly fine” after she was allowed to meet him, putting to rest rumours surrounding the former premier’s health.
Prison authorities had allowed her to meet the former prime minister today. She was accompanied by scores of PTI supporters who gathered outside the jail as Uzma went inside the prison to meet her brother.
In a short talk with the media after the meeting, she said: “Imran Khan’s health is perfectly fine. However, he was very angry and said that they are subjecting him to mental torture.”
She added that Imran was confined to his cell throughout the day and was allowed only a short time outside. Uzma further said that he was not in communication with anyone, and the meeting between them lasted around 30 minutes.
The meeting took place under strict supervision and without mobile devices, she added, declining to provide further details.
The development comes amid the PTI’s protests outside the Islamabad High Court and the Adiala jail against restrictions on the former prime minister’s visitation rights.
Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code was imposed in Islamabad and Rawalpindi ahead of PTI’s protests. It is a legal provision that empowers district administrations to prohibit an assembly of four or more people in an area for a limited period.
Earlier, Minister of State for Interior Tallal Chaudhry said that compliance with Section 144 would be ensured in Islamabad and Rawalpindi.
“Whether they come to the Islamabad High Court (IHC) or the Adiala jail, action under Section 144 would be carried out without any discrimination,” Chaudhry warned while speaking to the media in Islamabad. He particularly urged PTI-backed parliamentarians to “abide by the law”.
Chaudhry said Section 144 had been imposed in the twin cities “in light of intelligence reports”.
He further linked the matter to terrorism, saying: “Terrorists look for instances [which they can use] to spread fear and make headlines; be it [a] political gathering, courts or important places or offices.”
The state minister further said that terrorists used social media applications, particularly for communication. “They use these apps with virtual private networks (VPNs) to hide their identities and locations.”
So, Chaudhry continued, the interior ministry had decided that it, along with the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA), would find a solution to this problem.
“The PTA has issued a detailed press release regarding the registration of VPNs,” he said, adding that the government did not want IT-related businesses to be affected by this measure. “But, it has to be done at any cost to ensure that mobile and social media apps are not used for terrorist activities.”
The state minister also recalled that the Peshawar High Court (PHC) had ruled that state resources were not to be used for political activities.
So, “we hope that the KP (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) chief minister, who repeatedly comes to Islamabad and Pindi, will not use state resources for his political activities”, he added.
The state minister asserted that “KP police will [only] be used in KP for security”.
Rawalpindi police said effective arrangements had been made to ensure law and order in the city. In a statement, police said at least 3,000 security officers were performing traffic and other security duties.