‘He was repeatedly tortured in jail’: Imran Khan’s sister alleges mistreatment
Khan’s sister, Uzma Khan, attended his examination at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) in Islamabad and said the former prime minister was physically fit but had repeatedly complained of torture. Pakistan’s jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan repeatedly told his sister that he was being tortured in prison, she said on Saturday, a day after he was taken to a state-run hospital for a brief medical examination and sent back to jail.
Because of security concerns, information Minister Attaullah Tarar said the decision to take Khan to PIMS instead of the court-named private hospital was made.
The petition seeks action against senior government officials and asks that Khan be taken to Shifa International Hospital for treatment, PTI legal adviser Naeem Panjutha said. “The petition seeks action against the prime minister, law minister, information minister” and other government officials, Panjutha said, adding that it also calls for Khan’s treatment at the private hospital ordered by the court. His lawyers have previously said his health has deteriorated in prison and that he has suffered substantial loss of vision in his right eye.
The government has maintained that medical reports have found no condition requiring immediate treatment. Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party on Saturday filed a contempt petition against the government, accusing authorities of violating the Supreme Court’s order by taking him to PIMS instead of the private hospital named by the court.
Supporters gather after brief hospital visit
“After what happened yesterday, the pressure (on authorities) will double,” Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi said, adding that preparations for a protest march planned for September 27 had picked up.