Police officers arrest PTI supporters during a protest in Karachi. Photo: Jalal Qureshi/Express
ISLAMABAD/RAWALPINDI:
The Senate once again waded into protest on Friday as the beleaguered Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) vehemently demanded a meeting with its incarcerated founding president Imran Khan, raising alarm over his health as the “isolated” leader remains disconnected from the party.
Party leaders disrupted the debates with strong protests, chanting “organize a meeting with the founding president”.
The outcry marked another day of unrest in Parliament, with PTI senators alleging that authorities were deliberately preventing access to their leader and withholding information about his condition.
Meanwhile, earlier in the day, amid simmering tensions outside Adiala Prison, the tired party leadership, repeatedly forced to retreat to sit-ins and protests that repeatedly end in crackdowns and detentions, tried in vain to visit the Chief Justice of the Islamabad High Court (IHC).
The party lamented that meeting its imprisoned leader had become an ordeal, with even legal advisers, family members and associates denied access to the “isolated” leader for a “two-minute, apolitical” meeting on health.
Later, the issue dominated the session held in Parliament, chaired by Senate President Yousuf Raza Gilani, and left the upper house struggling to conduct its business.
During the session, Senator Ali Zafar warned that the PTI would not allow the House to function “until the federal minister responds regarding the founding president.”
Gilani informed the House that he had already discussed the matter with the Speaker of the National Assembly and had fixed an appointment for a meeting. “We will meet and resolve this issue,” Gilani assured.
The protest intensified when PTI senators banged their desks to express opposition to the alleged denial of meetings and “blackout of credible information” regarding their leader’s well-being. The leaders cited reports on social media of deteriorating health, which they said was causing widespread concern among the party’s ranks and supporters.
Dismissing the claims, Federal Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Tariq Fazal Chaudhry termed the circulating reports as “fake and propaganda spread by Indian media and social media” and reassured the House that Imran was “absolutely fine”, adding that a coordinated smear campaign was underway to fuel the unrest.
Chaudhry added that the government was ready to raise the issue with the interior minister to address concerns related to visit protocols.
Aleema moves IHC
Earlier, PTI’s embattled campaign to gain access to its incarcerated founder landed in court again as Aleema Khan filed a contempt of court petition against Adiala jail authorities for allegedly defying a binding IHC order allowing meetings with Imran Khan.
The plea comes amid heightened tensions outside Adiala jail, where KP Chief Minister Sohail Afridi and a group of PTI lawmakers had staged a sit-in overnight after Afridi was denied access to Imran for the eighth consecutive time on Thursday.
The PTI leadership says the refusal to allow meetings has turned into a systematic policy of political sanctions, despite clear judicial directives.
The petition names Adiala Prison Superintendent Abdul Ghafoor Anjum, Saddar Beroni Station Officer Raja Aizaz Azeem, Federal Home Secretary Captain (retd) Muhammad Khurram Agha and Punjab Home Department Secretary Noorul Amin as respondents.
According to the petition, Aleema “remained deeply concerned for the well-being, legal rights and humane treatment of her brother during his ongoing incarceration.”
The petition is based on a March 24 order of the Islamabad High Court (IHC) which reinstated Imran Khan’s bi-weekly meeting schedule.
Aleema seeks contempt of court proceedings “due to the willful non-execution of the orders passed by this honorable court, particularly with regard to the refusal of the authorities to authorize” meetings scheduled in accordance with the directive.
The plea alleges that “due to continued non-cooperation” from the prison administration and “continued political victimization,” Imran Khan and his associates were forced to file several petitions before the IHC to enforce basic visitation rights.
Despite “clear and unequivocal instructions” from the court, prison officials “repeatedly denied access to legal counsel, family members and associates” of the imprisoned PTI founder.
The petition recalls that the authorities themselves came up with standard operating procedures (SOPs) on March 28, designating Tuesdays and Thursdays for meetings with family, lawyers, friends and party members.
The plea states that even after the superintendent of Adiala Prison presented an undertaking before the IHC on November 8, pledging to uphold the agreement, the respondents continued to deny access.
Things got even worse on November 11, when PTI leaders who arrived at the jail to meet Imran were reportedly arrested. According to the plea, the commissioner “kept them waiting for several hours and then unlawfully detained them in custody,” in conduct that “made a mockery of the authority” of the IHC.
The motion contends that the defendants are “deliberately disregarding court decisions” and insists that their actions constitute “a serious contempt of this honorable court, for which they are subject to criminal prosecution.” He calls for the initiation of contempt proceedings, sanctions in accordance with the law and the application of the decision of March 24.
Attempts to meet IHC CJ rejected
Earlier today, Aleema Khan and CM Afridi visited the IHC to seek an audience with the top judge of the court.
Speaking to the media outside the court, Afridi claimed they had been informed that the chief justice “did not want to meet them”.
Afridi criticized “a deliberate attempt to isolate Imran Khan”, saying no one had been allowed to see him or his wife, Bushra Bibi, since October 27.
“Neither his sisters are allowed to meet him, nor his [party’s] managers, nor lawyers, nor doctors,” he said.
The KP chief minister also recalled a sit-in staged on November 19 by Imran Khan’s sisters, alleging that the police “dragged [them] along the road by the hair, pushed down and disrespectful”, despite their apolitical role and their simple intention to “see their brother”.
He said he and six others had pleaded with prison authorities for a brief, apolitical meeting, “just two or three minutes”, solely to inquire about Imran Khan’s well-being. “But we still weren’t allowed to meet,” he lamented.
Afridi accused the authorities of discriminatory conduct against the PTI-led KP government, comparing it to privileges given to other provinces, such as the use of Pakistan Air Force planes for chief ministers.
“By such actions, you create division. You provoke resentment and increasing distances,” he warned.
He alleged that an orchestrated strategy was being deployed “to put Pakistan’s most powerful political party against the wall” by targeting its leader, his family and the KP administration. If the situation deteriorated further, Afridi warned, “neither side would be able to control it.”
Afridi announced that the PTI would not allow the National Assembly and Senate sessions scheduled for Friday to proceed, saying legislatures were “of no use if they cannot do justice to their representatives.”
He vowed that “business as usual will not continue after this” until Imran Khan’s visitation rights are restored.
The KP chief minister called on “all parliamentarians across Pakistan” to stage a peaceful protest in front of the IHC on Tuesday before marching to Adiala jail.
“The Constitution and the law give us the right to protest,” he said, adding that if the right to meet Imran Khan was granted, “PTI would not turn to protest.”
