ISLAMABAD/LAHORE: The sit-in staged by lawmakers from Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and opposition alliance Tehreek Tahaffuz-e-Aiyeen Pakistan (TTAP) entered its second day on Saturday over concerns about the incarcerated former prime minister Imran Khan’s health, particularly claims of a worrisome decline in his vision in the right eye.
The protest demonstrations are being staged at the Parliament House, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa House and the Parliament Lodges, with National Assembly Opposition leader Mehmood Khan Achakzai and Senate Opposition Leader Allam Raja Nasir Abbas, KP Chief Minister Sohail Afridi and former CM Ali Amin Gandapur also among the protesting politicians along with other opposition lawmakers.
Authorities, on Friday, sealed Islamabad’s Red Zone, accompanied by deployments of police contingents and barriers.
The demonstrations by the opposition lawmakers come as the former ruling party has alleged negligence in the treatment of the jailed former prime minister’s eye ailment — who has been behind bars for more than two years, with his incarceration proving to be a flashpoint between the PTI and the government.
PTI counsel Salman Safdar, who has been appointed by the Supreme Court as amicus curiae (friend of the court), met Imran at Rawalpindi’s Adiala jail on the court’s orders and submitted a seven-page report on Imran’s living conditions before the apex court, revealing that the ex-PM complained that he had been left with only 15% vision in his right eye.
The top court, on Thursday, ordered access for the PTI founding-chairman to specialist eye doctors and ordered that a formal eye examination be conducted by a medical team before February 16 (Monday).
The court also ordered that Imran be provided the facility to hold telephone conversations with his sons, Kasim Khan and Sulaiman Khan.
Imran diagnosed with CRVO
The latest tensions between the government and the PTI follow last month’s confirmation of Imran undergoing a medical procedure for his eye at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims).
The former premier was diagnosed with a serious eye condition known as central retinal vein occlusion (CRVO), a disorder that commonly affects older adults and is linked to underlying cardiovascular risk factors such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes and heart disease.
Pims Executive Director Dr Rana Imran Sikandar later confirmed that a team of senior doctors assessed Imran’s condition before discharging him.
Sharing details of the treatment, Dr Sikandar said that Imran underwent a specialised medical procedure after doctors diagnosed a condition affecting the vision in his right eye.
Dr Sikandar said the procedure was performed in a sterile operating theatre under close monitoring and was completed successfully in about 20 minutes.
Govt, opposition at odds
Speaking to the media today, NA Opposition Leader Achakzai said that the sit-in would continue until the PTI founder is taken to the Shifa International Hospital.
A day earlier, Achakzai had said that the sit-in would remain peaceful and urged that Imran’s personal physician and family should be allowed to meet him.
However, at the same time, he warned that even if the government refuses to negotiate, the protest will continue, and if their demands are not met, the protest will continue through Ramadan and cautioned that if proper medical arrangements were not made, the ongoing sit-in could further escalate.
Separately, it is reported that PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan was contacted by government figures and was assured that a panel of doctors would be constituted to examine Imran’s eyes.
Meanwhile, speaking to the media in Lahore, Imran’s sister Aleema Khan said that the PTI founder’s vision had been blurry for the past three months.
Questioning as to why the authorities were not accepting the presence of ex-PM’s personal physician, She claimed that they were informed via a call last night that Imran will be treated at a hospital, but without the presence of his doctor and family members.
The government, on the other hand, has assured that if it is proved that medical treatment was deliberately withheld from Imran, it would constitute criminal negligence and could not be justified.
Prime Minister’s Adviser on Political Affairs Rana Sanaullah, while speaking in the Senate on Friday, said that Imran first raised the complaint about his eye in the first week of January, after which the jail doctor provided him with eye drops.
He further said the PTI founder was examined on January 16, while a medical team carried out a fresh examination and conducted tests on January 19. He added that an injection was administered on January 24.
Rejecting the claim that the complaint had been ongoing for four months, Sanaullah said the PTI founder was examined by the jail doctor every second day and that whenever he raised any medical concern, a check-up was carried out.
The PM’s aide further highlighted that the PTI founder had been examined by external doctors on 25 occasions. According to him, during a medical check-up on December 9, Imran did not raise any complaint regarding his eye.
