By APP

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Attaullah Tarar on Saturday said the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and its founder’s sisters have been committing contempt of the court by actively politicizing his health and disrupting his medical care.

“If anyone is in contempt, it is the PTI leadership and their founder’s sisters,” Tarar said while talking to the media. He rejected the PTI’s claim about the implementation of the apex court’s order by the administration.  Tarar explained that a contempt of court did take place, but it was committed by the PTI itself.

He pointed out that despite the court’s explicit order to avoid politicking over the issue, the PTI continued to hold press conferences and issue political statements.

Meanwhile, the PTI supporters gathered in groups outside Shifa International Hospital, broke through security barriers, and made TikTok videos on that day, he added.

He noted that this was the first time a prisoner was being transferred to a hospital while his own people created disruptions in his treatment.

“If they were loyal to their party founder and genuinely wanted him treated, they would not have created hurdles on his way to the hospital,” Tarar said.

Because the PTI supporters created a security risk with these hurdles, he explained, the government took the PTI founder to PIMS Hospital instead.

The PTI had nothing to do with the justice, he said, arguing that if the leadership truly cared about justice, they never would have filed a petition for contempt of the court.

The minister recalled that when the PTI was in power, its leaders and then-chairman issued daily, humiliating, and sarcastic statements mocking PML-N leaders over their medical issues.

Despite PML-N’s requests to avoid playing politics over matters that could affect anyone, the PTI persisted.

Tarar emphasised that as the PTI founder’s own health issues arose, current government leaders did not resort to that same behavior.

“When we were in the opposition, we had the same stance, and while in the government, we maintain the same stance that there should be no politics over someone’s health,” he noted, reiterating that this position will not change in the future.

Regarding the government’s legal stance, Tarar noted that the law minister has already presented the government’s position to the nation within hours of filing a review petition, clarifying that everything will proceed according to the law.

Tarar added that without the recommendations of a medical board, it is impossible to ascertain where treatment should be arranged and which doctors should provide care.

Despite these legal observations, Tarar affirmed that all requisites of the court order were fully implemented in a transparent manner, according to the law and the Constitution.

“Were the court orders implemented? The answer is yes. Did the check-up take place? Yes, it did. Did it happen in a transparent way? Yes, it did. Was his sister present there? Yes, she was. Were doctors from Shifa Hospital there? Yes, they were,” he stated.

Tarar mentioned he had posted two tweets a day earlier confirming the check-up in the presence of the prisoner’s sister and an ophthalmologist from Shifa Hospital.

Tarar also highlighted the role of the legal community, noting that both the Pakistan Bar Council and the Punjab Bar Council issued statements urging that bar politics be kept separate from general politics.

The elected representatives clarified that the PTI should not use the bars for its own political agenda.

Tarar condemned the actions of some lawyers who tried to “pollute bar politics” by issuing an unauthorized, so-called official statement in their individual capacities.

“The lawyers say there should be no politics over the issue, and we say the same. You created hurdles, and now you are playing politics over this issue.”Noting that PIMS reports show the PTI founder is in perfect health, Tarar questioned, “Which ailment of their founder do they want to politicize?”

He said that the government never stopped from providing him medical care.

Also read:Pakistan, Egypt, Türkiye and others reject Israel’s E1 settlement plan