The sisters of incarcerated former Prime Minister Imran Khan on Tuesday alleged their brother had told him he fears being “killed” in prison, as they reiterated calls for access to his personal physicians and hospitalization at a private hospital in Islamabad.
Addressing a press conference after once again being denied permission to meeting him in Adiala Jail, the sisters—Aleema, Uzma, and Noreen—said their brother had expressed fears about his safety in prison during his last meeting with Uzma in December. She claimed she had avoided mentioning this after the meeting, as in press interactions she had said Khan was “perfectly fine.”
According to Aleema, the daughter and sister-in-law of Khan’s wife, Bushra, had met her and conveyed a message that the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder was not satisfied with treatment of his eye. She said Khan had asked for his medical reports to be shared with his personal physicians. “Imran Khan has also said that his blood tests should be conducted and that the results be shared with his personal physicians,” she said, questioning why he was seeking this.
Khan’s sister reiterated claims her brother had started complaining of vision problems three months ago, summarizing the contents of a report submitted by his lawyer, Salman Safdar, before the Supreme Court. In the report, she recalled, Khan had suggested initiating a case of criminal negligence against the jail superintendent for allegedly delaying his treatment.
“We had demanded that Imran be moved to Shifa International Hospital, and the government initially agreed to it,” she said, adding it was later conveyed he would be shifted to Al Shifa Eye Hospital in Rawalpindi. She confirmed that the PTI had shared with the government the names of doctors it wished to examine Khan. “But we were told that we should change the names, so we changed the names. Later, we suggested Dr. Nosherwan Barki be allowed to meet Imran Khan, but we got the message that it was not possible,” she claimed.
Aleema claimed that prior to leaving for Sri Lanka to attend a cricket match, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi had assured them that her brother would be treated at Shifa International Hospital. “They said that sisters will not be allowed to meet him [Khan]. We accepted it and suggested that doctors should be allowed to meet Imran Khan, but that suggestion was also rejected,” she said, claiming they had refused to shift the PTI founder to hospital because they are “scared” of him.
During the press talk, Aleema urged “all Pakistanis” to raise their voice for the former premier and slammed a Peshawar High Court ruling directing the clearance of all road blockades in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. “This is our right,” she claimed.
Another of Khan’s sisters, Uzma, claimed she had received a “call from the government” and was informed their cousin, Qasim Zaman, could be allowed to visit him. “I replied that Dr. Barki and Dr. Yusuf should be sent instead,” she said, claiming she was told was not acceptable. She claimed she was later told Dr. Yusuf could meet Khan but this also did not happen.
Accusing doctors who examined and treated Khan of “derailing their credibility,” she said the report submitted in court had not detailed any diagnosis nor any treatment plan. “We have received messages from doctors from around the world that the report was not prepared by doctors,” she alleged. “That is why we were demanding that at least one doctor of our choice be included in the medical board,” she added, while claiming “injections” cannot be administered in jail.
“We do not know what kind of injection was administered to Imran. Was it an injection of poison?” she asked, fueling the conspiracy of Khan being “poisoned” in jail.
Opposition reactions
Earlier on Tuesday, opposition alliance Tehreek Tahafuz-e-Ayeen Pakistan (TTAP) pushed back against a press conference of the interior minister, describing it “blatantly misleading and contrary to facts.”
In a statement, the alliance claimed the government was attempting to create a “fabricated narrative to cover up the deteriorating health and treatment meted out to” the incarcerated former prime minister. “Concealing the facts from the nation is unacceptable,” it said, maintaining the lack of trust in the doctors appointed by the government was a joint decision of Khan’s family, the PTI leadership and the TTAP.
Reiterating the demand for Khan’s access to his personal physicians, it also maintained the “prolonged solitary confinement” of the incarcerated PTI founder was “torture, as per international human rights standards.”