PESHAWAR: Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf central information secretary Sheikh Waqas Akram on Tuesday said that his party’s legal team was exploring the possibility of shifting incarcerated former prime minister Imran Khan to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to serve his jail term.

Addressing a news conference at the Peshawar Press Club, Mr Akram said the PTI leadership had also shared the “threats” from Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif to Imran Khan with their legal team for necessary action as the Adiala Central Prison was located in her province.

“The legal team has been tasked with exploring the possibility of shifting Imran Khan to KP. We want our leader to serve his prison term here [in KP] due to concerns about his safety in Rawalpindi’s jail. We’ll share the legal team’s views on the matter with the media,” he said.

The PTI leader said that Imran had been kept in prison in the “worst condition,” with electric supply to his cell suspended and substandard food provided to him.

He said the entire nation was perturbed by “concerns about Imran’s health and safety” and if anything happened to the PTI leader that the nation would exact its revenge on rulers.

Mr Akram said any plan against the PTI founder would be a conspiracy against Pakistan.

“Punjab CM Maryam Nawaz’s statement has fueled concerns about our leader’s wellbeing and health in jail,” he said.

The PTI leader said that the Punjab government should focus on addressing its own failures instead of crying about the KP government.

Mr Akram said the KP government’s financial situation was at its best in 70 years of history due to its good performance.

He said that the money in KP’s kitty had surged from Rs25 billion to Rs175 billion, while the province had purchased Rs20 billion wheat from Punjab farmers who were ruined by the poor policies of the Punjab and federal governments.

He said that the PTI leadership and cadres in KP had not suffered as much as in Punjab.

Mr Akram said that the son of a PTI MNA from Punjab was kidnapped and severely tortured, while another MNA’s wife was also abducted.

He said that PTI workers and members in KP had also been arrested after the Islamabad protest, whereas party workers from Punjab had been languishing in jails for several months.

To a question regarding the PTI using KP as a power turf, Mr Akram said that political parties used their strengths in a particular area to serve their purposes.

He said PML-N leader Nawaz Sharif had been doing the same in Punjab.

To a question regarding Imran’s wife Bushra Bibi, he said that it was up to her to decide about where to stay.

“Our leader [Imran Khan] has made it clear on several occasions that the PTI is not a hereditary party and that his family would not join politics,” he said.

Mr Akram said that the former prime minister’s sister, Aleema Khan, and wife Bushra Bibi were raising voice for Imran.

He said that PTI had no objection to the appointment of Justice Yahya Afridi as the SC chief justice.

Published in Dawn, October 30th, 2024