PTI Stages Sit-in Outside Supreme Court, Salman Akram Raja Meets Chief Justice

Islamabad: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) staged a sit-in outside the Supreme Court on Tuesday, while senior party leader Salman Akram Raja held a meeting with Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Yahya Afridi to convey the party’s concerns.

Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Suhail Afridi, along with other PTI leaders, arrived outside the Supreme Court and began chanting slogans. According to Express News, the PTI leadership had reached the Supreme Court to meet the Chief Justice. Prior to that, Salman Akram Raja and Latif Khosa met the Registrar of the Supreme Court for about 10 minutes, followed by a meeting with the Attorney General.

Later, Chief Minister Suhail Afridi also reached the Supreme Court premises. PTI leader Shafee Jan said they had come to meet the Chief Justice and would approach the constitutional court as well if required.

Due to security concerns, additional security personnel were deployed inside and outside the Supreme Court, while extra prisoner vans were also positioned outside the premises.

During the sit-in, Senate Opposition Leader Allama Raja Nasir Abbas also joined the protest, as PTI workers continued chanting slogans outside the court.

Sources said the government has refused to send the PTI founder’s personal physician to Adiala Jail. PTI has proposed the names of two doctors from a private hospital and demanded that they be allowed to examine the PTI founder. Sources added that the government is considering the proposed names.

Meanwhile, according to sources, PTI leader Salman Akram Raja met Chief Justice Yahya Afridi for over 30 minutes. During the meeting, Salman Akram Raja briefed the Chief Justice on PTI’s concerns.

Speaking to the media after the meeting, Salman Akram Raja said that PTI leaders had been present outside the Supreme Court since morning and had remained outside Adiala Jail until 3am the previous night. “We will accept nothing less than transparency regarding the PTI founder’s health. In a fascist system, the founder is taken from jail to a hospital and lies are told for five days,” he said.

He added that meetings were held with the Chief Justice and the Attorney General, during which assurances were given that complete reports regarding what transpired at PIMS Hospital and in jail would be provided to the PTI founder. “Once these reports are presented, the family will decide whether they are satisfactory or not,” he said.

Salman Akram Raja reiterated PTI’s demand for the immediate release of the party founder, terming his detention unjust. He said that until all cases are concluded, the PTI founder should be given access to his family and associates.

He further said that a meeting of PTI’s political committee would be held later in the day to decide the future course of action. He added that the political committee, led by Allama Raja Nasir Abbas and Mahmood Khan Achakzai, would take the next decision, while the party’s movement would continue.