Imran Khan alleges "Cruelty" in jail, compares treatment to former Egyptian President Morsi

The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf on Friday, August 21, criticised the government for disregarding the apex court's directive by blocking Imran Khan's admission to a hospital, and warned it would launch protests across the country if the former prime minister is not freed from jail.

On August 18, the Supreme Court had directed that the 73-year-old PTI founder be moved from Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi to the privately owned Shifa International Hospital for treatment, and remain admitted there until September 16.

Instead, Khan was taken to the state-run Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) in Islamabad on Thursday night, where doctors from Al-Shifa were also present.

Following a medical checkup at PIMS, Khan was sent back to Adiala Jail.

The party has warned it will launch a long march to Islamabad on September 26 if Khan continues to be held, demanding legal access, the court-mandated medical treatment, and his eventual release.

Speaking to reporters in Islamabad on Friday, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi said the party would ramp up its campaign.

Calling the alleged breach of the Supreme Court's order "unfortunate," Afridi said the party's legal team would pursue legal action, cautioning that the episode could erode public trust in the judiciary and rule of law.

He said Khan had directed him to step up the party's movement, adding that the campaign would now move "at a faster pace." 

Afridi alleged that the government and the establishment were acting as though they were above the Constitution and the law, showing no concern for judicial directives.

"I will visit Hangu tomorrow and Buner the day after, and thereafter I will travel across Pakistan," he said.

He further alleged that both the judiciary and the public were being misled regarding the former prime minister's health condition.

Separately, Khan's sister Uzma Khan addressed a press conference in Islamabad alongside his personal physician, Dr Faisal Sultan, detailing her jail visit on Thursday night and the events at PIMS.

Uzma said that after reaching Adiala Jail, she was taken to PIMS and made to wait in an office, before later being taken to another room to meet her brother, who questioned why he had been brought to PIMS rather than Shifa.

"He (Khan) asked me what was happening (at PIMS), and I told him he would be taken to Shifa International Hospital for complete examination and, if required, any treatment. He was happy with that," Uzma said.

She said Khan had asked her to remain with him at PIMS, and repeatedly told her that he had endured "cruelty." 

"He said they were torturing them. He said a doctor who had visited him had concluded that his health deteriorated due to not having any human contact… He (Khan) said he was not being provided any reading material or television for the past 10 months," she said.

Citing Khan, she alleged that his complaints about his health to prison doctors had gone unheard.

Uzma added that a doctor who examined him on August 10 diagnosed him with severe anxiety brought on by "mental torture in solitary confinement," which she said was contributing to his rising blood pressure.

"He also said that Bushra Bibi (Khan's wife) was also being kept in solitary confinement… He kept saying that they were subjecting him to cruelty," she said.

Uzma said Khan drew a comparison between his own treatment in custody and that of former Egyptian president Mohamed Morsi, who died suddenly in 2019, reportedly from a heart attack.

"Imran said that Morsi was killed in the same way… torturing him by keeping him in solitary confinement," she said.

Khan also told his sister that he had been given newspapers and television access for two days, only for those privileges to be withdrawn. She added that a doctor had told him his hypertension stemmed from a lack of human contact. 

Uzma said that following the medical tests, she was taken back to Adiala Jail rather than to Shifa Hospital.

Dr Faisal Sultan said he had been taken to Shifa International Hospital, while Uzma Khan was taken to PIMS. "As it was approaching Fajr (dawn), I was told that perhaps Imran Khan was not coming and that I should leave," he said.   (With inputs from PTI)