Minister of State for Interior Talal Chaudhry has, without naming anyone, hinted at transferring Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan if the party becomes a threat to other prisoners at Rawalpindi’s Adial jail facility.
“If they [PTI] gather outside Adiala jail [again] and endanger other inmates, then ‘a prisoner’ will be transferred [from the facility],” Talal said in a video statement without taking Imran’s name.
Noting that “these people” were becoming a threat to prisoners, the minister further warned that in case of chaos outside Adiala jail, or anywhere else, the law will take its due course.
Tensions have escalated outside Adiala Jail recently as PTI protests, including scuffles with police and jail staff, continue over meetings with former prime minister Imran Khan, who has been imprisoned there for over two years.
Last month, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi staged a 16-hour sit-in outside the facility. Before this, Imran’s sisters Aleema Khan, Noreen Khan Niazi and Uzma Khanum also held a protest outside the jail, which resulted in their brief detention.
Meetings with the PTI founder have been a point of contention between the former ruling party and the government for quite some time, with the last meeting held last week when ex-PM’s sister Uzma was allowed to meet him.
However, since then, the government, as confirmed by Information Minister Attaullah Tarar, has imposed a blanket ban on meetings with the incarcerated politician.
The ban came hours after Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Director General Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry termed the PTI founder a “mentally ill person” and a threat to national security.
The ruling coalition has also alleged that PTI has time and again attempted to sabotage the country’s economic progress and incite people against the state and its institutions.
Meanwhile, firing a broadside at the PTI leadership today, Talal said that the criticism against the army and its chief is blackmail by the PTI in an attempt to regain power.
“Only a mentally ill person can consider himself indispensable [….] No invitation will be extended for negotiations now,” he said.
“The habit of this party is to criticise the institutions […] a mentally ill person will never speak in favour of the country,” the senator remarked. –Agencies
