Federal Law Minister Senator Azam Nazeer Tarar said former Prime Minister Imran Khan had completed a medical examination, and his sister had personally confirmed that the PTI founder was completely healthy and fit in all respects. He said the forum for a prisoner’s release was not the government but the courts. Speaking to the media outside Parliament House, he said a board comprising the country’s senior-most doctors had examined PTI founder Imran Khan on the Supreme Court’s orders.

The purpose was to determine whether his life faced any danger. Imran Khan’s sister, who was herself part of the medical board’s process, had appeared on the media and stated that the PTI founder was healthy and fit. If there were still any legal shortcomings, he said, the courts should address the matter. Such issues could not be resolved through an assault on Islamabad or rallies and demonstrations.

Azam Nazeer Tarar asked ordinary citizens to decide for themselves whether the method adopted by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, including repeatedly moving against the capital and Punjab, was correct. If PTI’s conduct was considered appropriate, he said, the government should also stand aside. The country had a constitutional, legal and judicial mechanism, while legislation in Parliament was discussed comprehensively.

The government had never refused serious dialogue and negotiations, but decisions regarding prisoners’ release were made by the courts. Their demands could not be imposed by holding cities hostage. Taking a firm position on the dispute over lawyers’ degrees and bar council elections, the law minister said the bar council elections and the lawyers’ system were their own internal matters, and no political leader or government had the right to issue a verdict on them.

Regarding the degrees, he said the degrees of all lawyers, including his own, had been verified by the Pakistan Bar Council in 2020, and the complete record was available. Those with incomplete information should check the record, while those who had made false allegations should either apologise or pay a fine in accordance with the law.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan (INP)