Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi on Wednesday attempted to speak at the rostrum of Islamabad High Court Chief Justice Sarfraz Dogar’s court, but the chief justice left for his chamber without hearing him.

Speaking to the media outside the court, Afridi said that since a meeting with Dogar had not been possible through other channels, he had attempted to address him in open court. He approached the rostrum and greeted the chief justice, but his greeting was not returned. After waiting for an hour and fifteen minutes, the chief minister said he was not given so much as a response.

Afridi said the purpose of the visit was to demonstrate that the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) does not engage in protest or anarchic politics. “We want to state that after exhausting all options, we stage peaceful protests, which is our right,” he said.

Read: Time to talk it out

He added that a request had also been submitted for a medical examination of PTI founder and former premier Imran Khan by doctors from Shaukat Khanum Hospital, but that application was not entertained.

Senior lawyer and PTI Secretary General Salman Akram Raja, also speaking to the media, said efforts were ongoing to secure access for Imran’s doctors and family. He said the court had ordered two weekly meetings – one day for lawyers and one for family – and that when he appeared in court with Afridi, the jail superintendent was directed to arrange the meeting.

Despite going on the same day, however, the meeting was never arranged. A contempt of court petition was subsequently filed, but was not taken up. When older contempt petitions were eventually heard, Raja said, they were disposed of.

With the high court taking no action over the violation of its own order, Raja said the matter was taken to the Supreme Court. Petitions filed for Imran’s medical examination could also not be heard. “The Islamabad High Court is a closed door for us,” he said. “Here we can file petitions, but they are not heard.”

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Raja pointed to a separate case related to the social media platform X, fixed for hearing against Imran, in which the court had directed that Raja be allowed to meet the ex-prime minister. “I said that without a meeting, how can a reply be submitted on behalf of the PTI founder?” he said. He was not allowed to meet Imran, yet the court proceeded regardless, directing that a reply be submitted and arguments made without one.

Raja said every party is entitled to present its position, and that Afridi, as a representative of 45 million people, had decided to stand in court and ask for exactly that. After the cases concluded, the chief minister attempted to speak, but the chief justice stood up and left, the secretary general noted.

“We will also approach the Supreme Court from here. The case of Imran Khan will have to be fought by the nation and the people,” said Raja.

Meanwhile, a man was deprived of his mobile phone in the high court corridor after he recorded a video of K-P Chief Minister Afridi.

Police confiscated the mobile phone from a person accompanying the chief minister for filming his departure and deleted the video, according to details. After the video was deleted, the mobile phone was returned to the individual concerned.

Aleema on courts, party infighting

Speaking to reporters outside the IHC, Imran Khan’s sister Aleema Khan said she had been attending the court for the past 13 months to ensure that her brother’s cases were heard.

She accused Chief Justice Dogar of being “brought into this position precisely so Imran Khan’s cases cannot be scheduled”, alleging that hearings were repeatedly avoided. She claimed that even when the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa chief minister attended proceedings, “the chief justice would stand up and leave. Once, I even stood in court and the chief justice walked out.”

“This chair exists to provide justice to the public. Courts around the world do not function like this,” she added.

On Khan’s health, Aleema said decisions regarding his medical treatment were the family’s prerogative, not the party’s. “Going forward, no decision regarding Imran Khan’s health will be made without our approval.”

She said Hussain Akhunzada had contacted the family about Khan’s health and that they had made it clear they wanted him treated at Al-Shifa Hospital. “We told him we meant Al-Shifa Hospital, not what was being shown on TV,” she said.

Aleema alleged the party had withheld information from the family and that she only received details after speaking to Dr Asim late at night. “We were not informed about anything. There was a Supreme Court case, and our doctors advised Al-Shifa. How could the party make any decision?” she said.

She further claimed that Khan was treated in jail without the family’s knowledge. “We were kept in the dark about treatment being conducted in jail,” she said, adding that although Mohsin Naqvi had claimed Khan received treatment, “no one comes forward to clarify what treatment actually occurred.”

Aleema criticised the PTI leadership, accusing it of inaction over the party founder’s health. “The party is so relaxed as if Imran’s treatment is already complete,” she said. “Enough is enough; anyone who cannot carry the burden of PTI’s founder’s narrative should step aside.”

She questioned the absence of senior lawyers and ticket holders. “Imran gave tickets to lawyers and repeatedly instructed that his cases be pursued. Today, where are the senior lawyers and ticket holders? Where are Hamid Khan, Ali Zafar, Latif Khosa? Barrister Gohar, who was supposed to oversee health issues, where is he?” she asked.

Aleema also alleged that government doctors were under pressure and said the information being shared publicly should have come from party leaders. “The information we are getting from Mohsin Naqvi should have come from Barrister Gohar,” she said.

She warned that no statements or decisions about Khan’s health would be accepted without the family’s consent. “From now on, we will not communicate messages to the party behind closed doors; we will do it in front of the media,” she said.

Questioning the lack of legal support in court, she added, “Imran Khan has repeatedly said, ‘Tell my lawyers to file my cases.’ If we can come and sit, then why don’t the lawyers show up?”

Aleema alleged the lawyers were deliberately kept away. “Because they were brought from Lahore High Court for the very purpose that you should not file the founder’s cases,” she said.