PESHAWAR: Special assistant to the chief minister for information and public relations Shafi Jan on Friday said shifting PTI founder and former prime minister Imran Khan from Rawalpindi’s Adiala Jail to an Islamabad hospital without informing his family was deeply concerning and raised serious questions.
“Not only Imran Khan’s family members but his legal counsel and party leadership, too, were not informed while he was being shifted to the hospital,” Mr Jan said in a statement.
He said that Chief Minister Sohail Afridi went to the Adiala Jail to know about the health and well-being of incarcerated former prime minister Imran Khan but he was denied the meeting in clear violation of the constitutional provisions and established legal procedures by the federal and Punjab governments.
The aide to the CM said that the chief minister, along with members of the provincial assembly, staged a peaceful overnight sit-in outside Adiala Jail to highlight the issue.
Accuses federal, Punjab govts of political victimisation
He said that the PTI’s sole demand was Imran’s access to his personal doctors for medical checkup.
The chief minister’s special assistant said that even the PTI founder’s family was not informed about his health status, an act that was against fundamental human rights, ethical norms and democratic values.
“Such actions suggest that critical information regarding Mr Imran’s health is being deliberately withheld,” he said.
Mr Jan said that the continued restrictions on meetings with founder PTI pointed out an alarming pattern of political victimisation and enforced isolation.
He said that on Friday, the chief minister and other representatives approached the Supreme Court as well in order to seek constitutional protection for Mr Imran’s health and fundamental rights.
The aide to the CM said that the federal government continued to show inflexibility and insensitivity on an issue of great concern and that PTI workers and supporters, both within Pakistan and abroad, remained deeply concerned about Mr Imran’s health.
He said that the federal and Punjab governments appeared unwilling to uphold constitutional obligations and moral responsibility.
Mr Jan questioned why “facts” were not being made public if Mr Imran’s health condition was stable.
He demanded that the PTI founder’s family members, legal team, political leadership and personal physicians be granted immediate and unhindered access.
The CM’s special assistant also called for an end to a “prolonged and unjust course of political victimisation” and warned that any further negligence concerning Mr Imran’s health would be unacceptable.
He added that full responsibility for any adverse consequences in that context would rest with the federal and Punjab governments.
Published in Dawn, January 31st, 2026
