Senate Opposition Leader Allama Raja Nasir Abbas has stated that Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf founder Imran Khan is a respected citizen of Pakistan and that serious concerns exist regarding his health, which should not be ignored. Speaking during a session of the Senate, Raja Nasir Abbas questioned whether the police have the authority to baton-charge peaceful protesters and confine them in police stations.
He said that oppression is unacceptable under any circumstances, adding that even in history, tyranny was not justified against figures like Pharaoh. He emphasized that governments are meant to grant rights to the people, while the PTI founder, as a respected citizen, possesses certain fundamental rights that are being repeatedly violated.
Raja Nasir Abbas said it was previously claimed that the PTI founder was not ill, but now serious apprehensions have emerged about his health. He questioned what harm would be caused by allowing a meeting with Imran Khan, noting that meeting a loved one is a basic right of his family.
The Senate opposition leader urged people not to live in fear and recalled that a senior politician in the past had been allowed to travel abroad for medical treatment. He announced that a protest would be held on February 8, clarifying that it would be entirely peaceful and that the opposition never called for blocking traffic or forcing shops to close.
He expressed concern that, despite this, people are being detained, calling it a sign of fascism. Raja Nasir Abbas added that questions raised earlier to the government remained unanswered and that Parliament has been rendered irrelevant, which he described as an unwise approach.
He further stated that depriving politicians of political activity and restricting them from expressing their views also amounts to oppression. He said that if similar actions were taken against Nawaz Sharif, he would speak in his favor as well. Concluding his remarks, he urged the Chairman of the Senate to instruct the government and ensure that the House is not made irrelevant.
