The PTI on Friday condemned the government for dodging the Supreme Court’s orders for moving incarcerated party founder Imran Khan to Shifa International Hospital, reported 24NewsHD TV channel.
Imran’s sister Uzma Khan, who was present for his medical examination, addressed a press conference in Islamabad alongside his personal physician, Dr Faisal Sultan. She said they had received a phone call on Friday to reach Adiala jail, where Imran is incarcerated.
“So we reached the Adiala jail at around 8-8:30pm,” she added. Uzma said they were then taken to a deputy superintendent of police’s room, whom she identified as Sibtain.
“Later, Sibtain sahib asked Dr Sultan to go outside the room with him and me to stay in the room. Then, after around 10 to 15 minutes, a female assistant sub-inspector took me to a car.”
She added that all this while, police did not answer any of her queries, including those about Dr Sultan. Uzma said she was then taken to PIMS.
“I asked them why you have brought me here; the SC has instructed for (Imran’s) treatment at Shifa International Hospital. At that, they told me we were there for a follow-up regarding Imran’s eye.”
Recounting her visit, Uzma said, “There was darkness all around.” She said she was taken to an office as a man used the torch from his mobile phone to light the way. She said she assumed the office belonged to the head of a department at PIMS. “We sat there for a while, and then they took me upstairs. When I went upstairs, Imran was sitting there. He too was a little surprised. He then stood up, he was in shock. He told the doctors who were with him that she is my sister and we were meeting after 10 months,” she recalled.
Uzma said she told him he was there for a checkup and would later be taken to Shifa International Hospital, adding she also enquired about Dr Sultan at PIMS but received no response.
She said they were then taken back to an office, where an examination of Imran’s eye was conducted. “There were two to three doctors there, but I was not familiar with any of them. They introduced me to Dr Arif, but I did not know any of the others,” she said.
She said they were then taken to an office where an examination of Imran’s eye was conducted. “They asked, ‘Khan sahib, which eye drops do you use?’
“I said if the drops they had prescribed were not mentioned in their notes. None of them knew,” she added.
One of the doctors said Imran needed to immediately undergo a test as his blood vessel had to be checked, she recalled, adding she told the doctors they would be going to Shifa International Hospital for an examination and checkup.
Uzma said they were again shifted to another place after that, where the doctors said Imran had to be administered an injection. They also did other tests and said the eye condition and haemorrhage situation had improved, she said.
Then, a doctor came and checked Imran’s blood pressure, which was 120/80 or 70, she said. “He (Imran) asked me what was happening, and I told him he would be taken to Shifa International Hospital for complete examination and, if required, any treatment. He was happy with that,” she recalled.
All this while, Uzma said, Imran kept telling her just one thing: that he had been subjected to “cruelty”. “He said they were torturing them. He said a doctor who had visited him had concluded that his health deteriorated due to not having any human contact.
“He said he was not provided any reading material or television for the past 10 months,” she said.
Uzma added that Imran also said when he would complain about his health to prison doctors, “no one would listen or care”.
She further quoted him as telling her that a doctor who examined him on August 10 said that he had severe anxiety due to “mental torture in solitary confinement”, and that anxiety caused high blood pressure.
“He also said that Bushra Bibi was also being kept in solitary confinement. He kept saying that they were subjecting him to cruelty,” Uzma said, adding that Imran told her that he was given newspapers and television for two days, after which these facilities were taken back.
She also rejected reports that Imran was not happy about being taken to Shifa International Hospital.
Continuing her account, Uzma said they were taken to the Adiala jail instead of Shifa International Hospital from PIMS. “When I disembarked the car I was in, I saw Dr Sultan getting off another car,” she said, adding that Imran’s message for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa CM Sohail Afridi was to expedite his movement.
It was unfortunate, says Gohar
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan has said the Supreme Court’s decision regarding the transfer of party founder Imran Khan to hospital was clear, adding that he did not expect the events that followed.
Talking to media in Islamabad on Friday, Gohar said he had not expected events to unfold in the way they did and suggested that someone might not want the issue to be resolved.
He said that if there had been any ambiguity in the Supreme Court’s decision, the matter could have been taken up through a review petition.
Gohar said the Supreme Court had clearly required Imran Khan to be transferred to the hospital and kept there for treatment. He said there had been no expectation that the former prime minister would instead be moved to another hospital.
The PTI chairman said political problems should be resolved through political means.
He described Imran Khan's hospital treatment developments as a major misfortune and reiterated that the party had not expected the situation to take this course.
Earlier, PTI leader Sheikh Waqas Akram has declared the government’s handling of party founder Imran Khan’s health as unacceptable, saying Information Minister Attaullah Tarar’s statement once again exposed the government’s misleading approach.
According to the 24NewsHD TV channel, Waqas said in a statement issued on Friday that the Supreme Court had clearly ordered that Imran Khan be transferred to Shifa International Hospital and that a full medical board be formed.
He said the court order required Dr Faisal Sultan to be included in the medical board and Dr Uzma Khan to be present. He questioned how Imran Khan could be declared medically fit and returned to Adiala Jail before dawn after only a few hours of a symbolic medical process.
The PTI leader said years of solitary confinement, limited medical care and health problems involving Imran Khan’s eyesight and blood pressure raised serious questions about the sudden declaration that he was healthy.
He asked the government to clarify whether the Supreme Court’s order had been fully implemented or whether only a formal process had been carried out to mislead the court and the public.
Waqas demanded that Imran Khan’s complete medical reports be made public immediately and presented before the court. He said Imran Khan’s health and dignity were not political matters but basic human rights.
He alleged that there were clear signs of a violation of the court order and an attempt to mislead the judiciary. He said the situation was not as simple as Information Minister Attaullah Tarar was trying to present it.
The PTI leader said the government must ensure transparency over Imran Khan’s health. He called for proper medical facilities and an independent medical examination, saying statements and symbolic measures were not enough.
He said it was the government’s responsibility to inform the public about the facts concerning Imran Khan’s health and called for an immediate end to political revenge and oppression.
Reporter: Tayyab Saif