KP CM announces overnight sit-in as PTI leaders once again denied access to Imran Khan

RAWALPINDI:

Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Chief Minister Sohail Afridi and other Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leaders were once again denied permission to meet the party’s founder outside Adiala jail, prompting the former to announce he would spend the night at the site in protest, officials said on Thursday.

Afridi and the party leadership held a meeting near the factory check post after the allotted visiting hours ended. They decided to stage a sit-in on Adiala Road all night until the founder was allowed to meet his personal doctors, family members and legal advisor.

The CM also ordered that all members of the provincial assembly be summoned to the site to reinforce the founder’s demand for access, while police blocked Adiala Road, preventing any access to the facility.

Speaking to the media at the checkpoint, Afridi expressed deep concern over the founder’s health, noting that he was secretly transferred from prison to the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) on Saturday.

“My boss was transferred from prison to the hospital on Saturday evening. The question is: why did his health deteriorate to the point that he had to be taken to the hospital? Why was his illness hidden? Why was his family not informed of his condition? If the situation was so serious, why were we not informed? Why was his personal doctor not kept incommunicado? Why was this Has it been hidden since Saturday until today and what are the reasons?” » he questioned.

He called the cover-up of the founder’s condition “medical terrorism” and said the incident was a violation of basic human rights. He demanded that the party founder be allowed to meet his family, party leaders and lawyers, saying such meetings were necessary to prevent the situation from getting worse.

Afridi said the founder had previously survived an assassination attempt and criticized authorities for allegedly making decisions about treatment without the family’s consent. “We do not trust these people at all. The founder is being detained unjustly. There has already been an attempt on his life. This was done without informing the family,” he said, adding that the nation would not accept this mockery of his life.

Afridi urged the media to raise their voices over the party founder’s condition, saying he was “deeply concerned” and “the entire nation is angry” over the situation.

Meanwhile, PTI general secretary Salman Akram Raja said that under an Islamabad High Court order, party members have the right to meet the founder.

He said the party submitted a list of authorized people to prison authorities, all of whom were present at the scene. “Today we are filled with worry and anger. The basic demands of humanity have been trampled,” he said.

He criticized the administration for violating basic humanitarian norms, pointing out that the secret transfer to the hospital deprived the founder’s family and personal doctors of the right to be present during treatment.

“We have decided to stage a sit-in on Adiala Road all night until the founder is allowed to meet his personal doctors, family members and lawyers,” he told reporters at the factory checkpoint.

Raja claimed that on Saturday evening, the founder was taken “secretly” from prison to PIMS, reiterating that even his family was not informed. He added that it was the duty of the prison authorities to inform the family so that the ruler’s relatives and personal doctor could be present.

He said the party would not accept what he described as taking the founder to a hospital chosen by authorities “in the dark of night” and administering treatment without transparency. He alleged that government ministers had refused the hospital transfer for six days but were now forced to acknowledge it.

“We have come today and we will not return without meeting the founder,” Raja said, adding: “It is the human right of the founder. We are here today and we are telling the nation that oppression and barbarity are taking place here.”

“Earlier on Thursday, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said that Imran Khan was briefly taken to PIMS for medical treatment. According to the minister, PIMS doctors conducted another examination of Khan’s eyes and, after obtaining his written consent, carried out a minor medical procedure which lasted about 20 minutes.

Following the procedure, Khan was transferred to Adiala prison with necessary medical instructions, Tarar said, adding that his vital signs remained stable and his general health condition was satisfactory. “He is in perfect health,” he said. He added that prisoners have access to medical facilities and specialized care whenever necessary, in accordance with prison rules.

Dismissing rumors circulating on social media regarding Khan’s condition, Tarar said claims that the former prime minister’s health condition was serious were false. “Alhamdulillah, he is absolutely fine,” he said, reiterating that the hospital visit was only for a minor eye procedure carried out on medical advice.

Learn more: Adiala road paralyzes as PTI stages sit-in following blocked visit to ex-PM

Top leaders of the PTI and allied parties held a joint press conference on Wednesday, raising the alarm over what they described as the continued denial of access to the jailed former prime minister, a day after reports surfaced that he was suffering from an eye infection.

“The last meeting with Imran Khan took place on December 20, after which party officials and his family members were not allowed to meet him,” PTI Chairman’s lawyer Gohar Ali Khan said at the press conference. He added that an application had been filed with the court seeking permission to meet Khan, but approval had not yet been granted.

Speaking to a private news channel on Thursday, Tarar said ophthalmologists examined Khan at Adiala prison and advised him to be transferred to Pims for further assessment and treatment. Following doctors’ recommendations, Tarar said, Khan was taken to hospital Saturday evening.

In December 2025, Islamabad Capital Territory Administration and Rawalpindi District Administration imposed Section 144 in all cities following the PTI protest announced tomorrow outside Adiala Jail and Islamabad High Court.

A spokesperson for the ICT administration confirmed the application of Article 144, which restricts all forms of public gatherings, demonstrations and rallies. “No individuals or groups will be allowed to hold protests or hold public events under these restrictions,” the spokesperson said.

However, a week later, a planned family and legal meeting with Imran Khan at Adiala prison ended without any visits, sparking a prolonged sit-in protest outside the prison by his sisters and senior party leaders, as authorities cordoned off the area with sweeping security measures.

Reacting to the situation, Prime Minister’s Advisor Rana Sanaullah said the government may consider transferring the PTI founder to another jail if protests outside Adiala jail continue to disrupt public life and become commonplace.

Due to the incessant sit-ins of the founder’s sisters, a terrorism case was registered against them, along with senior party officials and 400 others.

The FIR, lodged at Saddar Bairuni police station in Rawalpindi on Wednesday, invokes sections 7 and 21 (I) of the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA), 1997 and the Pakistan Penal Code. Police said protesters staged a sit-in on Kachehri Road near the prison despite restrictions on public gatherings imposed under Section 144.

According to the FIR, the case involved Aleema Khan, Dr Uzma Khan and Noreen Niazi, along with PTI leaders Qasim Khan, Salman Akram Raja and Aliya Hamza. Other nominees included Naeem Panjotha, Tabish Farooq, Tayyaba Raja, Nadia Khattak, Haroon, Raja Asad Abbas, Zafar Gondal and Shafqat Abbas.

However, the three sisters again staged a sit-in protest which led to parts of Adiala road being blocked after they were denied permission to meet the former Prime Minister at Adiala Prison a week later. The weekly protest followed prison authorities’ refusal to allow meetings between the PTI founder and his sisters as well as party leaders and other members of his family.