Bilawal hails SC order for Imran Khan’s hospital transfer

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has said that he welcomes the Supreme Court’s order regarding the transfer of former prime minister Imran Khan to a hospital for medical examination and treatment.

“Every sick prisoner has the fundamental right to receive medical treatment. The matter should not have reached the Supreme Court and the government should have taken notice of it itself, Bilawal said adding that the PPP’s position was clear that any prisoner who falls ill should be provided with proper medical treatment and facilities.

The Supreme Court in an order directed the authorities to shift Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder and from Adiala jail to Shifa International Hspital for medical examination and treatment.

He said that he and other members of the party welcomed the Supreme Court’s decision to direct authorities to shift Imran Khan to Shifa International Hospital for examination and a medical check-up.

Responding to a question about the creation of new provinces, Bilawal said the will of the people should be given due weightage in such matters.

He said his party would not bow to any pressure and would stand by its position on the issue.

He said that the PPP had always respected Parliament. He said some important parliamentary committees would have to be activated to make Parliament proactive and functional as opposition parties have boycotted parliamentary committees.

Bilawal said that he had met opposition leaders Mahmood Khan Achakzai and Allama Nasir Abbas, adding that the PPP had always played a key role in electoral reforms and he wanted Parliament to be proactive.

Talking about the AJK elections, he said almost every party had raised concerns about the fairness of the elections.

He said the PPP was a democratic party and accepted defeat openly. He said they had to collect the bodies of their workers under their own government in AJK, which should not have happened.

He expressed surprise that elections in a small area like AJK were conducted in three phases.

He said the PML-N government had no idea about the 26th and 27th constitutional amendments and that it was the PPP that had spearheaded the amendments.

He said there were some areas from which new provinces could be carved out, but if consensus did not develop within the provinces, no new provinces should be created.

He said Sindh’s position on new provinces was very clear: “We have never accepted, nor will we accept, such things under pressure or duress. People have sent us to Parliament to defend their rights.”

On Imran Khan’s medical treatment, Bilawal said, “It is the right of every prisoner that if he is sick, he should be treated.”

He said the matter should not have gone to the Supreme Court and that the government should have addressed it itself.

He added that the ministers had also appreciated the Supreme Court’s decision.

Bilawal said that, at present, the PPP was not focused on an in-house change.

He described the Kashmir elections as a sensitive issue, saying, “The less controversial the Kashmir elections were, the better, but they turned out to be highly controversial.”

He said the president of the Azad Kashmir People’s Party had been attacked.

“The entire army of federal ministers was sitting here. My people were shot,” he said.

Bilawal said the elections were not yet over but had already become controversial.

“If the PML-N wants such a controversial government, then congratulations to them,” he said.