ISLAMABAD — The gates of Pakistan’s Parliament transformed into a battleground Friday as opposition forces laid siege to the complex, demanding urgent medical treatment for former Prime Minister Imran Khan, whose vision has deteriorated to a catastrophic fifteen percent in one eye during seventeen months of what his supporters call illegal military detention, according to The Express Tribune.
The Tehreek-e-Tahaffuz-e-Ain Pakistan alliance orchestrated the dramatic sit-in after a Supreme Court-mandated medical report revealed the shocking extent of damage to the imprisoned leader’s eyesight. Armored vehicles ringed the parliamentary complex as police sealed entrances, trapping lawmakers inside their own lodges while protesters vowed not to move until Khan receives treatment at Shifa International Hospital.
“There will be no compromise on his health,” the alliance declared, as security forces deployed heavy contingents to prevent the demonstration from spreading.
The crisis exposes what opposition parties characterize as systematic torture and deliberate medical neglect orchestrated at the highest levels of Pakistan’s military establishment. Khan and his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party have consistently alleged that he remains under the direct custody of Army Chief General Asim Munir, not civilian jail authorities, a claim seemingly validated by the government’s flagrant defiance of multiple court orders.
Despite explicit instructions from both the Islamabad High Court and Supreme Court of Pakistan, Khan has been systematically denied access to his personal physicians, legal counsel, and even family members, violations that directly contravene Pakistan’s Jail Manual and constitute gross human rights abuses. His sister Aleema Khan demanded answers: “Nearly thirty hours after the medical report was presented to the Supreme Court, yet no orders have been issued for his transfer. Why has the Chief Justice delayed?”
The former cricket star turned populist leader has languished in Adiala Jail since August 2023, convicted in a £190 million corruption case his supporters dismiss as politically motivated persecution. He faces additional trials under the Anti-Terrorism Act connected to the violent May 9, 2023 protests that erupted after his initial arrest.
According to his lawyer Salman Safdar, Khan reported that medical complications developed in custody, with authorities allegedly withholding proper treatment until irreversible damage occurred. “They are not asking for him to be sent abroad,” emphasized protest leader Mahmood Khan Achakzai. “They are demanding treatment within the country.”
The inhuman conditions extend beyond medical neglect. Khan’s isolation from legal representation undermines his constitutional right to defense, while preventing family visits violates basic humanitarian standards observed even in maximum-security facilities worldwide. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Tariq Fazal Chaudhry’s insistence that “appropriate medical care” is being provided rings hollow against the stark reality: a former head of government may go permanently blind in government custody.
Opposition Leader Moeen Riaz Qureshi described police sealing parliamentary lodge doors as lawmakers attempted to join the protest, while TTAP member Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar reported all roads to Parliament cordoned off. Even religious leader Maulana Fazlur Rehman, no political ally of Khan’s, appealed on humanitarian grounds: “He should be allowed examination by his preferred doctor. Politics should not be turned into enmity.”
The government’s response bureaucratic delays, contradictory statements about when Khan first complained, and promises of future medical assessments, suggests a calculated strategy of running out the clock while permanent damage accumulates.
As Pakistan’s largest political party mobilizes and international observers take note, the question transcends one man’s eyesight. Can a nation claiming democratic credentials systematically torture a former prime minister, ignore its own supreme court, and maintain the pretense of rule of law?
Friday’s protest suggests growing numbers believe the answer is no and that the military establishment’s grip on Khan may finally be generating the public backlash it long sought to suppress.
