Pakistan’s incarcerated former Prime Minister Imran Khan was on Tuesday taken from jail to a hospital in the capital, Islamabad, for treatment of his eye ailment and was later shifted back, officials said.
Last month, the cricketer-turned-politician was diagnosed with right central retinal vein occlusion (CRVO), affecting his vision.
The founder-chairman of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) was brought to the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) for a second dose of an anti-VEGF intravitreal injection. He had earlier received treatment on January 24.
The procedure was conducted as a day-care surgery, and Khan’s vitals remained stable throughout, a doctor said. The former premier was discharged after the treatment with instructions for care and follow-up.
Also Read | 'Intervention is necessary': Pak SC on Imran Khan's 'vision loss'; allows ex-PM to speak with his sons
Earlier, Khan’s family and the PTI had demanded that he be treated at Shifa International Hospital, a private facility, also in Islamabad.
Parliamentary affairs minister Tariq Fazal Chaudhry said it was “necessary to clarify that the government took him (Khan) to PIMS under strict security arrangements while fulfilling all legal and humanitarian requirements.”
“According to doctors’ instructions, there was an improvement in eyesight after the first procedure, in view of which expert physicians recommended a second procedure. Today’s process was completed successfully and, after clearance from the medical team, he was shifted back to jail,” Chaudhry wrote in a post on social media.
The minister added that Khan would be administered a third injection on March 24.
'Want transparency, not secrecy': Family, PTI
Meanwhile, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf demanded “transparency, not secrecy” in Imran Khan’s treatment and reiterated its call for him to be shifted to Shifa International Hospital for what it described as independent and transparent medical care.
In a social media post, his sister, Aleema Khanum, maintained that the family does not trust the diagnosis or test reports from government medical facilities.
“From the news, we found out that Imran Khan was taken to PIMS again in the middle of the night, supposedly for his second injection in the eye,” she wrote, insisting that the family be informed before any medical procedure.
Khan has been lodged in Rawalpindi’s Adiala Jail since August 2023 following his conviction in a corruption case. He became prime minister in August 2018 but was removed in April 2022 after losing a no-confidence vote brought by the opposition. He has repeatedly alleged the involvement of a “foreign hand” in his ouster, hinting at the United States’ role.
(With agency inputs)
