Pakistan's opposition parties have agreed to hold an all-parties conference within 10 days, after a meeting in Islamabad that also raised fresh concern about the health of jailed former prime minister Imran Khan.

The meeting was held on Wednesday at the Islamabad residence of Maulana Fazlur Rehman, chief of the Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F). It brought together Mahmood Khan Achakzai, National Assembly opposition leader and head of the Tehreek-i-Tahafuz-i-Ayeen-i-Pakistan alliance, Senate opposition leader Allama Raja Nasir Abbas, and Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf leaders Asad Qaiser, Salman Akram Raja, Amir Dogar and Noorul Haq Qadri.

Committees to plan the conference

The parties agreed to strengthen their alliance and coordinate in parliament, and formed committees to settle their mutual differences and organise the conference — fixing its agenda, consulting other parties and announcing its date. It was their first joint meeting since emergency rule and governor's rule were imposed in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in October.

Khan's health raised

PTI secretary general Salman Akram Raja told the meeting that Khan's blood pressure was not under control. The party says it surged to 192 and has demanded his immediate transfer to Shifa International Hospital in Islamabad for treatment by his personal doctors, pointing to an August 18 Supreme Court order. Those are the party's claims: no independent medical report has been published, and the government has not published its own medical account.

Core committee appeals to the chief justice

On Friday, the PTI core committee voiced grave concern over Khan's health and urged the chief justice to ensure court orders about his treatment are implemented. Khan, 73, has been held in Adiala jail in Rawalpindi since his arrest in August 2023. The Islamabad High Court has fixed November 10 for the appeals of Khan and his wife, Bushra Bibi, in the £190 million case.