Islamabad Red Zone sealed
\nAchakzai demands shifting Imran Khan to the nearest hospital, declaring it a \u2018sub-jail\u2019
\n islamabad
\nIslamabad\u2019s Red Zone was sealed on Friday, with police preventing lawmakers from approaching Parliament House amid Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf\u2019s (PTI) sit-in.
\nThe PTI had announced a sit-in outside the building in the high-security zone, protesting the alleged negligence in the treatment of jailed former prime minister and party founder Imran Khan\u2019s eye ailment.
\nPolice contingents have been deployed and barriers placed at Radio Pakistan Chowk to stop movement towards Shahrah-e-Dastoor and Parliament House.
\nThe fresh protest comes following a report submitted by PTI counsel Salman Safdar before the Supreme Court regarding his visit to Adiala jail and meeting with the former premier.
\nThe court had appointed Safdar as amicus curiae (friend of the court), directing him to visit Adiala jail and submit a report on February 11, after the former premier informed that he had been left with only 15% vision in his right eye.
\nSpeaking to the media outside the Parliament House, PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan said he had \u201cbarely managed\u201d to reach the building.
\n\u201cParliamentarians are being stopped; I somehow managed to reach parliament,\u201d he said, adding that the party\u2019s sit-in has begun.
\nBarrister Gohar warned that if the party was not allowed to hold its protest at the designated site, demonstrations would be staged across the country. \u201cWe want to steer matters in the right direction. If the situation slips from our hands, the government will not be able to control it,\u201d he warned.
\nThe PTI chief further said that the party founder had authorised Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Mehmood Khan Achakzai and Senate Opposition Leader Allama Raja Nasir Abbas to lead the protest.
\nSpeaking to the media, Achakzai said the sit-in would remain peaceful, urging that the PTI founder\u2019s personal physician and family should be allowed to meet him.
\n\u201cEarlier, I was told that the PTI founder\u2019s health was better. We want him to be treated by competent doctors available in the country,\u201d Achakzai said.
\nMeanwhile, police shut the gates of the Parliament Lodges as PTI parliamentarians attempted to leave to participate in the sit-in.
\nAddressing the sit-in, Achakzai demanded that the PTI founder be moved to a hospital of his choice immediately for medical examination.
\nHe warned that if proper medical arrangements were not made, the ongoing sit-in could escalate further.
\n\u201cOur biggest demand and point is the PTI founder\u2019s health,\u201d he said.
\nCiting the report submitted to the Supreme Court, Achakzai said that Imran\u2019s vision has significantly worsened, urging authorities to declare the hospital a \u201csub-jail\u201d to ensure the former premier\u2019s treatment while maintaining custody.
\n\u201cImran Khan is not just a former prime minister, but also a human being and a prisoner,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s a matter of just ten minutes for a doctor\u2019s check-up before transferring him to Shifa Hospital.\u201d
\nThe NA opposition leader criticised the government, saying its repeated mistakes have made sit-ins inevitable. \u201cThe government knows everything, yet continues to ignore the health of the PTI founder.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Islamabad Red Zone sealed Achakzai demands shifting Imran Khan to the nearest hospital, declaring it a \u2018sub-jail\u2019 islamabad Islamabad\u2019s Red Zone was sealed on Friday, with police preventing lawmakers from approaching Parliament House amid Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf\u2019s (PTI) sit-in. The PTI had announced a sit-in outside the building in the high-security zone, protesting the alleged negligence […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":531182,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-531160","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-top-news"},"yoast_head":"\n