Peshawar, Feb 12 (PTI): Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi on Thursday condemned what he described as the “gross negligence” and “criminal recklessness” of the federal government regarding the medical condition of jailed former prime minister Imran Khan.
Addressing a meeting of the provincial cabinet of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government, Afridi said that the official medical report itself admits that 73-year-old Khan has lost most of his eyesight, with only ten to fifteen per cent remaining in right eye.
However, he added that this report cannot be relied upon, as Khan’s personal physicians have still not been allowed to conduct a complete medical examination.
Afridi stated that when Khan was shifted to hospital, neither his family members were taken into confidence nor were his personal physicians informed.
He claimed that as Khan’s popularity could not be curtailed, he was being “deliberately targeted”.
The chief minister from Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party said that if such treatment can be inflicted upon a former prime minister, it is a “deeply disturbing matter, clearly revealing malicious intent and dangerous designs”.
Earlier in the day, the chief minister said that the nation has not forgotten incidents such as “Model Town, May 9, November 26, and Muridke”.
He said that those for whom the “lives of ordinary citizens hold no value have today openly resorted to state oppression”.
He said that the continued delay in fixing the cases of Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi in the Islamabad High Court for nearly a year is alarming, warning that when justice is denied, the public’s last hope also fades.
He alleged that the governments imposed in Punjab, Sindh, and at the federal level lack public mandate, and this reality stands exposed before the entire nation.
The chief minister said that the country’s security situation has entered a troubling phase, with terrorism persisting in Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, while even the federal capital is no longer secure.
Speaking on the economic situation, Afridi said that Pakistan’s total debt has crossed Rs 80,000 billion, out of which Rs 36,000 billion is external debt linked to the dollar.
Exports are close to zero, the trade deficit is widening, and the dollar has been artificially restrained at Rs 280, but once reality surfaces, it could exceed Rs 400, he said.
He said the country has been pushed close to bankruptcy. He said that while the country is slipping out of control, the rulers’ sole priority is to unlawfully keep Khan imprisoned.
Afridi said that peaceful protest is the constitutional and legal right of every citizen, and exercising this right is the people’s prerogative.
He stated that, in line with the chief justice’s directive, Khan must undergo an immediate medical examination by his personal physicians by February 16 and the nation must be taken into confidence.
Khan has been in jail since August 5, 2023, when he was arrested at his Lahore residence after his conviction in a corruption case. Currently, he is incarcerated at the high-security Adiala Jail, Rawalpindi.
A two-member bench comprising Chief Justice Yahya Afridi and Justice Shahid Bilal Hassan on Thursday resumed hearing a case about the living conditions of the 73-year-old former cricketer-turned-politician and ordered a detailed check-up before February 16. PTI AYZ GSP GSP
(This story is published as part of the auto-generated syndicate wire feed. No editing has been done in the headline or the body by ABP Live.)
