By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar said on Monday that a medical team had expressed complete satisfaction with the ongoing treatment of incarcerated former prime minister Imran Khan’s eye, downplaying concerns about his vision as a sit-in by the opposition Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and its alliance partners over the issue entered its fourth day.
A fresh medical examination of Khan had found no high-risk complications, Tarar told a lawyers’ ceremony in Ferozewala. He said the PTI founder had undergone a repeat check-up, with one eye showing around 70% vision when corrected with glasses and the other maintaining normal 6/6 vision. “There is no need to worry about the so-called ’35/25′ issue,” Tarar said, adding that the medical team had already briefed opposition leaders and Khan’s personal physicians.
The minister’s remarks came amid heightened tensions after a medical report submitted to the Supreme Court confirmed that Khan had been diagnosed with central retinal vein occlusion (CRVO) in his right eye. The condition is typically linked to older age and cardiovascular risk factors, including high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes and heart disease.
The report, presented by Khan’s counsel and the court’s amicus curiae Salman Safdar, noted that the 73-year-old former premier, who has been in Adiala Jail since August 2023, had complained of losing about 85% of his vision in the right eye.
Despite the government’s reassurances, the opposition alliance Tehreek Tahafuz-i-Ayeen Pakistan (TTAP) and PTI maintained their sit-in outside the Parliament House. Roads leading to the complex, which had been blocked ahead of the protest on Friday, were cleared on Monday morning. TTAP spokesperson Akhunzada Yousafzai said the sudden opening of the routes took protesters by surprise. “First of all, we are going to have breakfast after four days, as previously we were eating only dates and biscuits and were being forced to drink tap water,” he told local media. “It has been decided to merge the sit-in at the Parliament lodges with the one at Parliament House.”
The sit-in was originally spread across three locations. The main protest at Parliament House was led by TTAP chief Mahmood Khan Achakzai and Allama Raja Nasir Abbas. PTI parliamentarians led the demonstration outside the Parliament lodges, while Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi oversaw the protest at the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa House. Yousafzai said the alliance would study a health report the government is due to submit to the Supreme Court before deciding its next move. He made clear, however, that the sit-in would not end until all demands were met.
On Sunday, a medical team examined Khan inside Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi for about an hour. The PTI rejected the inspection, saying it was conducted without the presence of his family or personal physicians and describing it as “malicious”. PTI senior leader and former National Assembly speaker Asad Qaiser told reporters that the party and its allies would maintain pressure on the government until Khan was shifted to hospital. “We will not compromise on Imran’s health,” Qaiser said. “The government is testing the stamina of the party.” He added that the opposition had decided to approach the Supreme Court on Monday to secure what he called Khan’s constitutional right to medical treatment of his choice, specifically at Shifa International Hospital in Islamabad.
A senior TTAP leader, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the alliance had been informed late on Saturday night that Khan would be moved to Shifa hospital, only for messages to arrive later suggesting the sit-in should be called off first. The previous day, the TTAP had accused authorities of blocking access to food, water and medicines for protesters inside the Parliament House compound for a third consecutive day, calling it a breach of democratic norms.
Province-wide blockade in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
While attention remained focused on the capital, PTI activists kept Khyber Pakhtunkhwa effectively cut off from the rest of the country for a third day, blocking all major entry and exit points. Protesters sealed the Peshawar-Islamabad Motorway at Swabi’s Anbar Interchange, the Grand Trunk Road at Khairabad Bridge, the Dera Ismail Khan-Bhakkar Road, the Lakki Marwat-Mianwali Road, the Hazara Motorway at the Abbottabad-Havelian Interchange, the Kohat-Pindi Road near Khushal Garh, and the Upper Kohistan-Gilgit stretch of the Karakoram Highway.
No vehicles were allowed in or out of the province, creating severe difficulties for passengers and freight traffic heading to Islamabad and other parts of Pakistan. At Khairabad Bridge, which links Khyber Pakhtunkhwa with Punjab’s Attock district, former provincial governor Shah Farman and other PTI leaders addressed the crowd. Farman said the Constitution’s Article 4 guaranteed every citizen the right to medical treatment of their choice. “The people who are not allowing treatment of Imran Khan through doctors of his choice will be responsible if his eye is further damaged,” he said. In Swabi, protesters turned sections of the motorway into an impromptu market, with vendors setting up stalls selling food and drinks. PTI district general secretary Afsar Khan told journalists the workers had no intention of leaving.“We will continue to sit here and if our demand is not accepted, this protest will continue,” he said. “The federal government is responsible for the prevailing mess in the country.”
In Dera Ismail Khan district, activists blocked four key arteries — Bhakkar Road, Multan Road, Chashma Road and the CPEC route — bringing traffic to a standstill and creating long queues. The district administration said it was monitoring the situation, while local residents appealed for the roads to be reopened. Similar protests continued in Lakki Marwat and Karak districts. In Lakki Marwat, former district nazim Ishfaq Ahmad Khan Minakhel led a sit-in at Darra Tang that closed the Bannu-Mianwali road, a vital link to Punjab and the CPEC corridor. Minakhel said the federal government’s refusal to provide proper medical care had caused the loss of Khan’s vision. “PTI activists have come on the roads to hold peaceful protests against the PML-N government, which is responsible for the poor health of our party leader,” he said. In Karak, protesters gathered outside the Nashapa oil and gas field and halted operations. Oil tankers were unable to enter or leave the facility. PTI district president Inayat Khattak said party leaders had decided in a meeting to shut down oil and gas fields in Makori, Nashapa and Gurguri to register their protest.
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