By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: Jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan was transferred under tight security from Adiala Jail to a hospital in Islamabad on Tuesday for a scheduled follow-up visit to treat a serious condition in his right eye, where he received a second injection, hospital officials said.
Khan, 73, was taken to the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) for the second time this year after an initial visit on Jan. 24 and 25. Doctors have prescribed a course of three intravitreal injections for the condition.
Prior to the procedure, a board of specialists examined him, including a consultant cardiologist who carried out an echocardiography and electrocardiogram (ECG). Both tests showed normal results and Khan was found to be clinically stable, according to a statement issued by the hospital’s executive director.
After obtaining informed consent and under standard monitoring and protocols in the operation theatre, he was administered the second dose of an anti-VEGF intravitreal injection under microscopic guidance. The injection was performed by a consultant ophthalmologist and a consultant vitreo-retinal surgeon from PIMS and Shifa International Eye Hospital, the statement said.
The procedure was completed as a day-care surgery. Khan remained vitally stable before, during and after the intervention, officials said. He was discharged the same day after spending about an hour at the hospital, with follow-up instructions, care advice and medical documents. He was then returned to Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi. A third and final injection is scheduled for March 23. His heart condition was also checked during the visit.
Khan’s health has become a fresh point of friction between the government and the opposition Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party and its allies after a report submitted to the Supreme Court by his lawyer and court-appointed amicus curiae Barrister Salman Safdar. The report stated that Khan had been diagnosed with central retinal vein occlusion (CRVO) in his right eye and had reported losing 85 percent of his vision in that eye. CRVO is a condition that typically affects older adults and is often associated with cardiovascular risk factors including high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes and heart disease.
Khan has been in custody since August 2023 following convictions that he and PTI say are politically motivated. He denies any wrongdoing. Since his removal from power in a 2022 no-confidence vote, he has faced multiple legal cases, including those involving state gifts and an unlawful marriage. Some convictions have been suspended or overturned on appeal.
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