ISLAMABAD: Rejecting speculations about secret talks with the establishment, PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Khan made it clear on Tuesday that the party was neither interested in nor holding talks with anyone.

“Today, I asked party’s founding chairman Imran Khan that if some institutions had contacted him for the talks? Imran Khan clearly said that no one had contacted him,” Mr Gohar said while speaking to media persons outside Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi.

He said no one had even contacted him for dialogue, nor had he received any message for talks from anyone.

“Same is the case with the other party leadership. Even if we receive any message from anyone for dialogues, we will inform the media,” he said.

Demands Bushra Bibi be shifted to Shaukat Khanum Hospital forthwith

He made it clear that whenever PTI is interested in dialogues, they would be held openly and the media would be informed about it.

In reply to a question, he said Mr Khan did not believe in sharing power and would not make an alliance with any party which has stolen the mandate of the PTI. However, he said, the party would continue efforts and struggle for the rights of the people of Pakistan.

Bushra Bibi’s health

Expressing serious concerns over the health of Bushra Bibi, the wife of former prime minister Imran Khan, after a team of doctors with an ambulance visited Banigala overnight to examine her, the PTI leadership on Tuesday warned that the rulers would be held responsible if anything happened to her.

Speaking at a press conference, the PTI leaders warned that Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif, jail superintendent and other authorities would be held responsible if anything happened to Ms Bibi, alleging that the current regime had crossed all boundaries of “fascism and inhumane acts”.

Accompanied by PTI Senator Dr Humayun Mohmand, Naeem Hai­der Panjutha and party’s Women Wing president Kanwal Shauzab, central information secretary Raoof Hasan dema­nded that Mr Khan’s wife be immediately transferred to Shaukat Khanum Hospital and treated by doctors of her and her husband’s choice.

PTI Senator Mohmand questioned the credibility of medical ass­e­ssment reports of Bushra Bibi, alleging that her medical examination had been delayed for two months. He said that if tests were not conducted in a specific period of time, their results could be different.

He said if Ms Bibi was allowed to undergo medical tests when she complained about health deterioration, only then they could accept the test results, adding that she needed a clinical evaluation because here medical examination diagnosed that her stomach layer was inflamed and digestive canal was damaged.

That was the reason doctors suggested a better diet for her and, therefore, the chances of her being poisoned could not be ruled out, he claimed.

Mr Hasan alleged that all st­ate institutions badly failed to per­form their legal and constitutional duties. He said the chief justice inaction and sil­­ence on human rights violations in the country raised many eyebrows.

Mr Panjutha said Ms Bibi had no health issues before her detention and the issue of her medical examination had been dragged for two months with “malicious” intent.

Ms Shauzab said that after the “regime change conspiracy”, a new but alarming tradition had emerged in the country to specifically target women.

Published in Dawn, April 24th, 2024