Islamabad, 13 February (H.S.): Pakistan's opposition alliance, spearheaded by National Assembly Opposition Leader and Tehreek-e-Tahafuz-e-Aain-e-Pakistan (TTAP) chief Mahmood Khan Achakzai, announced on Thursday night, February 12, that protesting lawmakers would commence a peaceful sit-in demonstration outside the Parliament House starting Friday morning to demand unfettered access to jailed Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan and guarantees for his medical treatment.

Speaking to journalists late Thursday in Islamabad following an opposition conclave, Achakzai revealed the consensus decision binding the coalition until authorities permit meetings with Khan—who has languished in Rawalpindi's Adiala Jail since August 2023 amid charges spanning corruption to terrorism—and ensure treatment satisfactory to his party and family; he underscored the protest's non-violent nature, flanked by Majlis Wahdat-e-Muslimeen (MWM) chief Allama Raja Nasir Abbas, PTI Chairman Gohar Ali Khan, and Asad Qaiser.

Achakzai clarified that formal demands would be articulated during Friday's sit-in, persisting indefinitely until met, with the government held accountable for any adverse incidents; he appealed to opposition parliamentarians and supporters for participation post-Friday prayers, amid outrage over a seven-page Supreme Court report by amicus curiae Salman Safdar—appointed February 10—detailing Khan's 85% vision loss in his right eye from an untreated blood clot despite repeated complaints ignored by jail officials.

Senate Opposition Leader Allama Raja Nasir Abbas decried the government's criminal negligence as a grave sin, vowing to alert foreign entities; Chief Justice Yahya Afridi and Justice Shahid Bilal Hassan's bench ordered Safdar's February 11 report during hearings on Khan's Adiala Jail conditions, spotlighting prolonged blurry vision culminating in diagnosis by a Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences specialist.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar