ISLAMABAD: The sisters of incarcerated former prime minister Imran Khan on Wednesday lashed out at the leadership of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), accusing it of maintaining “complete silence” and failing to actively pursue legal and political efforts for their brother’s release.
Speaking to journalists outside the Islamabad High Court (IHC), Aleema Khan questioned the absence of key party figures from what she termed the political and legal battlefield.
“Where are Barrister Gohar Ali Khan, Latif Khosa and Barrister Ali Zafar, and why are they not pursuing cases?” she asked while accompanied by Uzma Khan and Noureen Khanum.
The sisters had reached the IHC to inquire about cases related to the PTI founder. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi also arrived at the court and attempted to meet Chief Justice Sarfaraz Dogar.
The 73-year-old cricketer-turned-politician has been in jail since August 2023 after being convicted in multiple cases, which he maintains were politically motivated following his removal from office through a parliamentary vote in 2022.
Khan’s health has recently become a point of contention between the government and the opposition, including PTI and the TTAP alliance, after a report was submitted to the Supreme Court of Pakistan by his lawyer and the court’s amicus curiae, Barrister Salman Safdar.
Earlier this week, he was shifted to the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims) in Islamabad, where he was administered a second dose of an anti-VEGF intravitreal injection as part of treatment for his diagnosed eye condition, according to a hospital statement.
Addressing reporters, Aleema said her brother remained the central figure of national politics and the party itself. “He is our brother, and politics revolves around him. We will speak for our brother, no matter what Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi does,” she said.
Uzma Khan echoed the criticism, stating that the family was often kept in the dark about developments in his cases. “The party leadership is nowhere to be seen and there is complete silence,” she said.
Aleema further alleged that PTI lawyers, now members of parliament, had themselves admitted that their mandate was tied to the party founder, yet had failed to act decisively. She questioned how an ideological party could be divided by a single statement against the interior minister, adding that if more members had spoken up, it would not have harmed the party.
Referring to remarks attributed to Naqvi, she asked why the party had not responded to what she described as accusations against the sisters.
She claimed that despite repeated directions from Imran Khan to file legal petitions, the party chairman and its legal team had failed to ensure that cases were fixed before the Supreme Court and high courts.
Alleging a lack of transparency, Aleema said party leaders were making decisions without informing the family and maintaining contact with the interior minister without sharing details.
“If the family had been kept satisfied and informed, the situation would have been better,” she said, terming it shameful that key decisions were being taken without consultation.
She also alleged that government doctors were under pressure and demanded that the family’s own doctors be allowed to remain present during medical evaluations.
Aleema concluded by demanding that the PTI leadership clarify its position and explain its silence, insisting that no decision regarding Imran Khan’s health should be taken without consulting the family.
