PESHAWAR: The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and the Tehreek-e-Tahafuz-e-Ayeen-e-Pakistan (TTAP), a coalition of opposition parties, announced on Wednesday that they have ended their sit-in protest in Islamabad’s Red Zone.
The demonstration was held to protest the health concerns faced by former Prime Minister and PTI leader Imran Khan at Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi, as detailed in a report submitted by PTI lawyer Salman Safdar to the Supreme Court.
Speaking outside the Supreme Court building, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi explained that opposition leaders Mehmood Khan Achakzai and Raja Nasir Abbas were authorized to either negotiate or continue protesting. “Our leadership initially directed us to hold the sit-in; we complied with those instructions,” he said. “Now, the leadership has decided to call off the protest, and we are following suit.”
Allama Raja Nasir Abbas expressed concern over the alarming health condition of Imran Khan, revealing that only about 15 percent of vision remains in his right eye. He questioned why treatment was delayed despite the former prime minister’s complaints about his eye problem weeks ago, calling it a serious negligence that has caused distress not only to Khan’s family but to the entire nation.
Abbas added that protests were held at various locations including the Parliament House, Parliament Lodges, and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa House under the banner of TTAP. He also mentioned that police have begun registering cases against PTI and TTAP leaders.
He further noted that Achakzai threatened to undertake a hunger strike, but with Ramadan approaching, both PTI and TTAP have now decided to end the sit-in. “We will determine our next course of action in due course,” Abbas concluded.
