Mohammad Zubair Claims Imran Khan’s Medical Treatment Linked to Approval of Operations in Five KP Districts
LAHORE:Mohammad Zubair Umar, economic spokesperson for the Tehreek Tahafuz Aain-e-Pakistan, has claimed that the political situation surrounding PTI founder Imran Khan’s meeting with his family and access to medical treatment has become extremely serious.
Speaking in a podcast, Zubair said he did not want to spread pessimism but insisted that the situation was “very bad.” He claimed that a condition had been imposed linking a meeting with Imran Khan and his medical treatment to approval for security operations in five districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
According to Zubair, Federal Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi had made it clear during negotiations that the issues were interconnected and that progress on one matter depended on decisions regarding the proposed operations.
Zubair said he had questioned why the issue of terrorism had suddenly become part of discussions concerning Imran Khan’s medical facilities and meetings with his family.
He recalled that in mid-August, the Supreme Court had ordered that Imran Khan be provided medical facilities, allowed to speak to his children and have his personal doctor included in a medical board. However, he claimed that these directives had not been fully implemented.
“Whatever the government says, he has not been allowed to speak to his children,” Zubair said, arguing that even if taking Imran Khan to a hospital such as Shifa International was considered a security concern, there should have been no difficulty in arranging a phone call with his children.
He said nearly two months had passed without the family being allowed to speak to Imran Khan, which had created considerable pressure among PTI workers.
Zubair said that political parties were built around their workers and that, under growing pressure, KP Chief Minister Sohail Afridi had announced a protest.
He added that the government subsequently attempted to engage with the protesters and provide assurances, describing this as a normal response by a government seeking to defuse tensions.
Referring to discussions held during the negotiations, Zubair said he had heard from relevant political figures that Mohsin Naqvi had made it clear that the issues were linked.
According to Zubair, the message was that if approval was not given for security operations, then progress would not be made on other issues.
He alleged that a meeting with Imran Khan and access to medical treatment had therefore been directly linked to approval for operations in five districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
