By Berk Kutay Gokmen
ISTANBUL (AA) - Pakistani lawmakers on Friday demanded medical treatment for the imprisoned former Prime Minister Imran Khan over his “vision loss.”
The opposition alliance Tehreek Tahafuz-i-Ayeen Pakistan (TTAP) lawmakers protested outside the parliament in the capital Islamabad, demanding Imran Khan’s admission to a hospital for treatment.
Lawmakers raised slogans seeking the release and treatment of Khan, according to videos shared by TTAP on US social media company X.
It came after a lawyer on Thursday submitted a report to the Supreme Court, detailing the situation of the founder of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party.
The report by lawyer Salman Safdar said Khan’s right eye had lost vision. He met Khan in Adiala jail on Tuesday, following the top court's direction.
The court was told by Safdar that Khan had only 15% vision remaining, prompting a strong response from the PTI and his followers.
The Supreme Court ordered the formation of a medical team to examine Imran Khan’s eye, after the submission of the report.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Tariq Fazal Chaudhry on Friday said that the government has “repeatedly” assured the opposition that “no negligence will be tolerated regarding Imran’s health.”
“It is a medical issue,” he stressed, adding that Khan would be taken “wherever he prefers” for medical treatment.
TTAP leader and former lawmaker, Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar, said the government had “cordoned off all roads leading to the Parliament.”
“All this to stop opposition MPs from protesting and demanding medical access to Imran Khan. This doesn’t reflect strength rather weakness!” he said on X.
However, Minister Chaudhry said the “blockade was not from the government’s side."
Khan, who was ousted from government by parliament in April 2022, has been in jail since late 2023 over several cases, which his party says are politically motivated.