ISLAMABAD — Pakistan’s opposition parties have agreed to strengthen their alliance, coordinate in parliament and hold an all-parties conference within the next 10 days, at a meeting that also raised fresh concern about the health of jailed former prime minister Imran Khan, according to Dawn.
The meeting was held on Wednesday, November 4, at the Islamabad residence of Maulana Fazlur Rehman, chief of the Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F). It brought together Mahmood Khan Achakzai, the leader of the opposition in the National Assembly and head of the Tehreek-i-Tahafuz-i-Ayeen-i-Pakistan (TTAP) alliance, Senate opposition leader Allama Raja Nasir Abbas, and Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) leaders Asad Qaiser, Salman Akram Raja, Amir Dogar and Noorul Haq Qadri, according to Dawn.
The parties formed committees to resolve their mutual differences and to organize the multi-party conference — fixing its agenda, consulting other parties and announcing its date. It was their first joint meeting since the federal government imposed emergency rule and governor’s rule in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in October, suspending the PTI-run provincial government for an initial six months.
Khan’s health raised at the meeting
PTI secretary general Salman Akram Raja raised concerns about Khan’s health at the meeting, saying the jailed party founder’s blood pressure was not under control, according to Dawn. PTI says Khan’s blood pressure surged to 192, and it has demanded his immediate transfer to Shifa International Hospital in Islamabad for treatment by his personal doctors, pointing to an August 18 Supreme Court order. Those are the party’s claims: no independent medical report has been published with them, Khan’s lawyer Salman Safdar has said he was not the source of the alarming health reports, and the government has not published its own medical account.
Khan, 73, has been in Adiala jail in Rawalpindi since his arrest in August 2023. His family says limits on visits continue despite court permissions for twice-weekly meetings. Separately, the Islamabad High Court has fixed November 10 for hearing the appeals of Khan and his wife, Bushra Bibi, in the £190 million case.
What happens next
The conference committee will now consult other parties and announce the date and agenda, with the meeting expected within a week to 10 days, according to reporting of the joint press conference. The opposition says the conference will take up the emergency in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the state of parliament and the economy, and Khan’s detention. The government of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has defended the emergency as a response to the provincial government’s disengagement from the fight against terrorism — a charge the PTI rejects. The Standard’s report of the meeting has the committee details.
