By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: The leader of opposition in the National Assembly appealed directly to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday for his personal intervention to allow jailed former prime minister Imran Khan to be examined by his own trusted physicians, citing urgent concerns over the cricket star-turned-politician’s health and the secretive nature of recent medical procedures.
Mahmood Khan Achakzai, who heads the multi-party opposition alliance Tehreek Tahafuz Ayeen-i-Pakistan, detailed his worries in a letter shared on the social media platform X, emphasising that Khan’s recent check-ups at Adiala jail in Rawalpindi had been conducted without the involvement of his personal medical team or family. “I am writing with utmost urgency to bring to your immediate attention a serious matter concerning the health of former prime minister and PTI Chairman, Mr Imran Khan, who is currently detained at Adiala jail, Rawalpindi,” Achakzai wrote.
He noted that Khan’s personal doctors, who know his full medical history, were not informed about the examinations. “A full medical examination and tests by his trusted doctors is critically needed without any delay to properly assess and manage his health, in line with medical ethics, legal obligations, and fundamental human rights,” the opposition leader added. Achakzai specifically named three physicians — Dr. Muhammad Aasim Yusuf from Shoukat Khanum Hospital, Dr. Prof. Mazhar Ishaq from Shifa Hospital, and Dr. Prof. Aamir Awan — as the preferred team to conduct the check-up.
Last week, the government acknowledged that Khan was transported to the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims) in Islamabad on the night of January 24 for a 20-minute intervention. Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said Khan’s eyes were examined further, and after his written approval, the procedure was performed before he was returned to jail with instructions for follow-up care.
Pims Executive Director Professor Dr. Rana Imran Sikander confirmed in a video statement that the treatment went smoothly. “It was completed smoothly in approximately 20 minutes. During the treatment, the patient remained vitally stable and was discharged with routine post-procedure care instructions and follow-up advice and documents,” he said. But PTI leaders have condemned the move as a “secret transfer,” accusing authorities of keeping Khan’s family and party in the dark and denying him his personal doctors.
The plea comes amid growing tensions over Khan’s incarceration, which began in September 2023, and persistent allegations from his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party that authorities are deliberately isolating him. Khan, a charismatic figure who led the country from 2018 to 2022 before being ousted in a no-confidence vote, has faced a barrage of legal cases ranging from corruption charges to inciting unrest, which his supporters dismiss as politically motivated.
Separately on Tuesday, PTI Chairman Gohar Ali Khan addressed reporters outside Adiala jail, offering a glimmer of reassurance about Khan’s condition based on indirect messages from the former prime minister’s wife, Bushra Bibi. After her family was permitted a half-hour visit with her — the first in three months — they relayed to Gohar that Bushra Bibi had met with Khan and found him feeling much better. “Bushra Bibi said PTI founder was taken to hospital after he complained of severe eye pain,” Gohar said, adding that doctors had warned of potential eyesight loss without the procedure.
Gohar clarified that the meeting between Bushra Bibi and her family did not include Khan himself, and no political topics, such as the PTI’s planned February 8 protest, were discussed. Still, he stressed the need for direct access. “Despite the message from Bushra Bibi’s family, it was still necessary to allow a meeting between Imran and his family, and to also allow Imran’s physicians to examine him.” He pointed out that Khan had not been allowed visitors since December, despite a Islamabad High Court order permitting twice-weekly meetings on Tuesdays and Thursdays with family, lawyers, and associates.
In the legal arena, PTI Secretary General Salman Akram Raja appeared at the Islamabad High Court to file what he described as the party’s sixth contempt petition against Adiala jail authorities for defying the court’s access order. Speaking to reporters on the court premises, Raja decried the “continued and deliberate non-compliance with court orders.” He argued that while imprisonment restricts physical freedom, it does not erase fundamental rights. “No constitution prevents a prisoner from speaking, and the jail rule being cited to restrict meetings is itself unconstitutional,” he said, without specifying the rule.
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