ZULFIQAR AHMAD

ISLAMABAD: Tempers flared in the capital on Friday as an enraged Omar Ayub, the opposition leader in the National Assembly and Imran Khan’s sisters were barred from meeting the jailed ex-prime minister in Adiala Jail.

“This isn’t democracy; it’s a dirty joke,” alleged Ayub, addressing a presser alongside the opposition leader in Senate Shibli Faraz and Imran Khan’s sisters, Aleema and Uzma Khan.

Ayub accused the government of keeping Khan in a ‘solitary confinement’, calling it a blatant violation of basic constitutional rights.

“The Constitution is on vacation and the courts are asleep,” he alleged. “We’ve been knocking on every door for the last three months but it’s like no one is home.”

Ayub also shared an account of being hauled off by authorities on Thursday evening – without a warrant – and dumped “in the middle of nowhere” near Chakri. “It felt like we were part of some bizarre roadside attraction,” he said.

Aleema Khan did not hold back either. She slammed jail officials for “mocking the judiciary,” accusing them of ignoring clear orders from the Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Yahya Afridi. “This isn’t about staff, this is about the dignity of the courts,” she declared. She also raised eyebrows with claims of a wider plot to isolate Khan from his legal team. “Every time his lawyers try to meet him, chaos magically erupts as if the sky will fall if they succeed,” she said, dripping with sarcasm.

Both Ayub and Aleema demanded the Islamabad High Court step in now to end what they called a “deliberate blockade.”

And in a concluding shot, Ayub said: “This isn’t some cheap drama, this is real life. And Pakistan deserves better and we will fight till the last ball.”