ISLAMABAD:
Aleema Khan, sister of the jailed Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder, strongly criticized the party leadership and warned that anyone who could not bear Imran Khan’s narrative should step aside.
Speaking outside the Islamabad High Court (IHC), Aleema Khan issued a stern warning to the party leadership, asking them not to issue any statement about the founder’s health without the family’s permission.
Imran Khan has developed an eye disease while in Adiala Jail. Jail authorities have taken him twice to the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) for treatment. However, the PTI insists that the treatment should be done in the presence of his family and personal doctors.
“The party leadership seems relaxed as if the treatment of Imran Khan is over,” Aleema Khan told reporters. “Those who cannot bear the burden of Imran Khan’s narrative should step aside,” she warned.
She alleged that government doctors treating Imran Khan were under pressure. She also criticized Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi’s remarks regarding Imran’s treatment and said PTI was unable to counter Naqvi’s statements.
“Information that reached the family through Naqvi should have been conveyed through PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan,” she said. She added that communication within the party should not only take place through internal channels. She promised to present messages publicly.
Referring to the trial involving the PTI founder, she questioned why the party’s lawyers did not secure the hearings in these cases. She said family members were willing to sit in court for long hours and criticized delays in cases.
Party sources indicated growing differences within the PTI over future protest strategies. Splits are reportedly emerging between the Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa leadership over planned agitation movements for the release of Imran Khan.
PTI Punjab leaders are said to have expressed reservations over statements made by the KP leadership regarding the formation of a so-called “liberation force”. Sources claimed that replacing dialogue with force-based plans could increase hardships for workers in Punjab.
Senior party figures, who reportedly operated from hiding, warned that announcing such a force could undermine the sacrifices of jailed and underground leaders. Some sources also questioned how the party would guarantee that protest campaigns remain free of violence.
