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Aleema Khan, the sister of incarcerated former prime minister Imran Khan, asserted that any acceptable compromise must entail the re-establishment of an independent judiciary and the conduct of transparent general elections, as Pakistani authorities once again blocked her from meeting the jailed leader, Pakistani newspaper Dawn reported.
The repeated denial of prisoner access highlights growing concerns over prison conditions and the selective application of legal rights under the current regime. Speaking to journalists outside the high-security Adiala Jail on Tuesday, Aleema maintained that visiting the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) figurehead was their constitutional right. She pledged to persist with her visits to the facility, describing it as the sole method of mounting pressure on the "powers that be". Defending the party's core stance against state clampdowns on democratic institutions, she stated that "the family of Imran and party leaders will continue efforts for an independent judiciary and a free media". When questioned about widespread speculation regarding a clandestine huddle between the PTI founder and a former army chief, she dismissed the reports as politically motivated fabrications, Dawn reported. She clarified that "no such meeting has taken place, and such rumours are circulated whenever political temperatures rise". Aleema disclosed that she had questioned PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Khan over purported interactions with Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi. While Barrister Gohar confirmed the dialogue and cited official guarantees regarding prison access, she noted that these commitments failed to materialise. Instead of empty political promises, she insisted that immediate focus must be redirected towards securing appropriate medical treatment and care for the detained former premier. Furthermore, she demanded that if any political consultations or meetings were being conducted by the leadership, they must be executed "transparently and communicated openly to party members". Slamming the heavy-handed security apparatus deployed around the detention facility, the PTI founder's sister charged that extensive blockades and traffic diversions exposed the administration's "fear of public support for Imran Khan". She further alleged that the state apparatus was deliberately trying to suppress conversations surrounding her brother's deteriorating physical state, according to Dawn. Aleema reiterated that the primary "objective of the current political efforts was the release of Imran Khan", adding that any lawmaker who actively facilitated his freedom would be hailed as a public hero. Turning her attention to regional high-handedness, she strongly condemned systemic electoral manipulation, political victimisation, arbitrary detentions, exit bans, and the deployment of state force against political activists and contestants in Pakistan-occupied Gilgit-Baltistan (PoGB). "Governments resort to oppression when they lack public support, while popular movements draw strength from the backing of the people. Attempts are being made to silence the PTI founder, but he remains committed to his principles and is prepared to make personal sacrifices for his cause," Aleema stated. Dismissing talk of underhand settlements for personal leverage, she maintained that the sole viable "deal" remained the return of judicial autonomy and the holding of genuine elections, which she described as vital pillars of democratic governance. She observed that seasoned political leaders like Mahmood Khan Achakzai and Allama Raja Nasir Abbas were deliberately selected by the PTI founder for their political maturity. She urged that authorities immediately grant the jailed leader his statutory privileges, predicting that relentless public pressure would ultimately compel state stakeholders to the negotiating table. Meanwhile, exposing deepening anxieties within the opposition over the state's handling of the jailed leader, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi stated that their singular demand was for the immediate transfer of the PTI chief to Shifa International Hospital for urgent medical attention, Dawn reported. Dismissing state-backed whispers of an internal mutiny against his administration, Afridi pointed out that no political faction could unseat the chief minister in KP apart from Imran. He warned of more sinister motives behind the administration's strict visitation bans, stating, "They want to do something with Imran Khan, and that is why they are not allowing a meeting with him." The Chief Minister also accused the federal government of using political distractions to mask the country's severe economic mismanagement. "The propaganda surrounding the forward bloc has begun to divert attention from the upcoming budget, under which the masses will once again be made to suffer," he stated. Highlighting the economic distress facing the public under the current federal setup, Afridi concluded, "I would like to request you to keep focusing on the budget and Imran Khan's health. They have no foreign policy or any agenda for the masses. We have prepared the KP budget, which will be the best budget. However, the entire country will be affected by the federal budget." (ANI)
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