News
Friday, May 10, 2013
Injured Imran won’t cast vote* Media reports say intelligence personnel deployed on PTI chief’s security
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Chairman Imran Khan will not be able to vote in landmark elections tomorrow (Saturday) as his doctors insist he needs to stay in hospital, officials said.
Imran, who has electrified the campaign with calls for change, suffered fractured vertebrae and a broken rib on Tuesday when he fell from a lift taking him to the stage at a rally. “It is impossible,” Khwaja Nazir, a spokesman for the Shaukat Khanum hospital told AFP when asked if Imran would visit his constituency to vote on Saturday. “His doctors are not allowing him to move out of the hospital, though he wants to move around,” Nazir said.
PTI spokeswoman Shireen Mazari told AFP: “I don’t think he will be physically able to go and poll his vote, and the date for postal ballot has expired.” “His health and safety is more important than anything else. He has to be stable first because at the moment he is not even walking.” Doctors expect Imran to make a full recovery, but have not yet specified how long he will need to remain in hospital. “In the next two days, we will be in a better position to inform you about how many more days we will need to keep him in hospital. But his recovery is much faster than expectations,” Doctor Faisal Sultan told reporters.
Dr Sultan has said Imran will not be allowed to cast his vote in Mianwali due to his health. While speaking to the media, Dr Sultan said it was not possible to discharge Imran from the hospital before the election day. He added that Imran’s MRI will be conducted on Friday (today) following which it will be decided when the PTI chairman will be discharged from the hospital. Doctors treating the PTI leader have allowed him restricted movements.
Media reports said that intelligence agencies and the provincial government have taken charge of Imran’s security. The reports said that intelligence agency’s personnel in plain clothes have been deployed around Shaukat Khanum hospital. agencies
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk