Imran to be treated by ‘best’ eye specialists, says Tarar

Opposition continues sit-in at Parliament House

ISLAMABAD: Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said on Saturday that further medical treatment of PTI founder Imran Khan would be carried out by eye specialists at a specialised medical institution, while the opposition continued its sit-in at Parliament House over concerns regarding the ex-premier’s health.

In a post on X, he said, “Pursuant to ongoing eye treatment of Imran Khan, further checkup and treatment will be done in a specialised medical facility by the best eye specialists.

“A detailed report thereof will also be submitted to the Supreme Court. Conjecture, speculations and efforts to turn this into political rhetoric and mileage for vested interests may please be avoided,” he said.

The remarks came as parliamentarians from opposition parties, under the banners of PTI and Tehreek-i-Tahafuz-i-Ayin-i-Pakistan (TTAP), continued their sit-in at Parliament House and KP House in Islamabad on Saturday for a second day, demanding that PTI founder Imran Khan be immediately moved to a hospital for treatment.

The sit-in was announced after the Supreme Court (SC) was informed on Thursday that Imran’s right eye had only 15 per cent vision remaining, prompting a strong response from the party.

The sit-in started after Friday prayers and continued overnight. Participants in the sit-in are demanding that PTI founder Imran Khan be moved to Shifa International Hospital.

The protest is being led by TTAP Chairman Mehmood Khan Achakzai and other prominent leaders, including PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan, Senator Ali Zafar, Asad Qaiser, Junaid Akbar, and others.

Senate opposition leader Allama Raja Nasir Abbas said on Saturday that Parliament House had been turned into a “prison”.

“We have been inside Parliament since yesterday. We wanted to go outside but all the gates were closed,” he said in a video posted by TTAP on X.

“Parliament and its premises have been turned into a prison; it is condemnable.”

“We are not armed. We are standing here with nothing but our ethics and the strength of the truth,” he added.

The Senate opposition leader noted that Imran, like other prisoners, had rights and that “90 per cent” of Pakistanis — both here and abroad — were expressing concerns over the PTI founder’s health.

In a post on X, PTI General Secretary Salman Akram Raja said the Parliament House, Parliament Lodges, and the KP House “had been turned into a jail”.

Demanding that they “be set free”, the senior PTI leader alleged that the state was “terrified” of them taking to the streets.

PTI Central Information Secretary Sheikh Waqas Akram said in an earlier post on X that the sit-in had entered its second day, adding that the opposition leaders were “trapped” inside Parliament House.

“We also remained inside Parliament House the entire night,” he said, adding that the PTI and TTAP leadership was “exhausted from hunger”. “The police did not allow dinner at night and now breakfast in the morning to be taken inside,” Akram claimed. Staff Report