Peshawar Chief Minister of Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province Suhail Afridi on Thursday condemned the federal government’s “gross negligence” and “criminal recklessness” over the medical condition of jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan.
Addressing a cabinet meeting of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provincial government, Afridi said the official medical report itself admitted that the 73-year-old Khan had lost most of his vision, with only 10 to 15 percent left in his right eye.
However, he added that the report was not credible as Khan’s personal doctor had not yet been allowed to conduct a full medical examination.
Afridi said confidentiality was not given to Khan’s family or his personal doctor when he was transferred to the hospital.
He claimed that Khan was “deliberately targeted” because of his unquenchable popularity.
The chief minister of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf said it was “deeply disturbing and clearly exposes malicious and dangerous intentions” if the former prime minister was treated in this way.
Earlier in the day, the Chief Minister said that the country has not forgotten incidents such as “Model Town,,, and Muridke”.
He said those “whose lives as ordinary citizens have no value” were today openly resorting to state oppression.
He said the Islamabad High Court’s continued delay of nearly a year in resolving the case of Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi was shocking, warning that when justice was not served, the last hope of the public was dashed.
He claimed that the governments in Punjab, Sindh and federal levels lacked public mandate and this reality was exposed to the nation.
The chief minister said the security situation in the country has entered a disturbing phase with continued terrorism in Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and even the federal capital is no longer safe.
Talking about the economic situation, Afridi said Pakistan’s total debt has exceeded $80 trillion, of which $36 trillion is foreign debt pegged to the US dollar.
Exports are close to zero, the trade deficit is expanding, and the dollar exchange rate is artificially suppressed $280, but it may exceed that once reality sets in $400, he said.
He said the country was on the verge of bankruptcy. He said that while the country was spinning out of control, the rulers’ only priority was to illegally imprison Khan.
Afridi said that peaceful protest is the constitutional and legal right of every citizen, and exercising this right is the prerogative of the people.
He said that as per the chief justice’s instructions, Khan must immediately undergo a medical examination by a private doctor before February 16 and must keep the matter confidential from the state.
Khan has been in jail since his arrest from his residence in Lahore on August 5, 2023, after being convicted in a corruption case. He is currently imprisoned in the high-security Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi.
A two-judge bench of Chief Justice Yahya Afridi and Justice Shahid Bilal Hassan on Thursday resumed hearing of the case regarding the living conditions of the 73-year-old former cricketer-turned-politician and ordered a detailed inspection by February 16.
This article was generated from automated news agency feeds without modifications to the text.
