Islamabad, Dec 10 (IANS) The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) on Wednesday accused the authorities of using water cannons to disperse protesters, including its founder Imran Khan’s sisters, who were holding a sit-in outside Adiala jail after prison authorities did not allow them to meet him.
In a statement shared on X, the party stated that Pakistani authorities used water cannons to disperse Imran Khan’s sisters and PTI workers outside Adiala jail despite the court permitting a meeting with Imran Khan, Pakistan’s leading daily Dawn reported.
“This brutal crackdown on a peaceful sit-in violates basic human rights and freedom of assembly in freezing weather!” it said, also sharing a video on X, which showed water cannons being used as people fled from the spot.
In a statement on X, PTI Islamabad stated, “Punjab Police’s fascist actions have started once again! In severe cold, peaceful workers outside Adiala Jail were attacked with water cannons; these cowardly actions will neither be able to suppress our voices nor diminish our morale.”
In another post, Imran Khan’s party stated that his family not being allowed to meet him led to the sit-in.
It stated that using water cannons against peaceful protests was “not only a shameless violation of Imran Khan’s prisoner rights but also an outright assault on the constitutional rights of people who gathered to protest the regime’s atrocities.”
The party has urged international human rights groups not to stay silent against “such inhumane and authoritarian actions in Pakistan.”
Imran Khan’s sister Aleema Khan and PTI members started holding a sit-in outside Adiala jail in Rawalpindi on Tuesday after jail authorities once again did not allow them to meet the founding PTI chairman, local media reported.
In video statements while heading to the prison on Tuesday, Aleema alleged that the state had been violating the law while insisting that Imran Khan-founded PTI has not done anything illegal, Dawn reported.
She said, “If they do operate illegally and we do our work according to the law, and if they are right and we are wrong, then that shows just how our system works.” Aleema Khan mentioned that Imran Khan has not been permitted to meet his personal physician for the past 14 months.
Khan, who has remained in prison since August 2023, faces multiple cases, including corruption and terrorism, since his ouster from power through a no-trust motion in 2022.
Last week, Imran Khan filed a plea in the Islamabad High Court, seeking permission to conduct his medical tests and examinations in three days at the Shaukat Khanum Hospital. The PTI founder filed the petition in the court through Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi.
The petition has requested the court to order monthly medical check-ups and tests for Imran Khan at Shaukat Khanum Hospital. It also requested the court to order full access to medical teams and permit medical examinations as per Imran Khan’s medical history and current health condition, Pakistan’s another leading daily, The News International, reported.
In the plea, Imran Khan has requested that a copy of the medical report be given to the PTI founder’s family and presented in court.
–IANS
akl/sd/
