PTI founder asks party leadership to prepare for ‘major nationwide movement’

Imran Khan, the incarcerated founder of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), has urged party members and leadership to prepare for a “major nationwide movement” aimed at toppling the current coalition government, according to his sister Aleema Khan, who spoke to the media outside Adiala Jail on Monday.

Aleema clarified that Khan has no plans to summon supporters to Islamabad. “The PTI founder said the movement will take place across Pakistan,” she stated, without providing a specific timeline for its launch.

She conveyed three key messages from Khan:

• He is being denied even the basic rights afforded to ordinary prisoners.

• In the past eight months, he has only been permitted to speak with his children once.

• The jail authorities have repeatedly barred his sisters from visiting and have blocked books sent to him.

Khan, 71, has been imprisoned since August 2023 on multiple charges, including corruption and terrorism, following his removal from office through a no-confidence vote in April 2022.

Addressing concerns about his well-being, Aleema said the former prime minister is not being allowed access to his personal physician.

She also quoted Khan as saying that there is no room in the party for individuals who “play on both sides of the wicket,” a metaphor criticizing disloyalty or double standards.