Imran Khan’s vision ‘improved remarkably’ in prison, says Pims – but PTI dismisses findings as lacking credibility

By Staff Reporter

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences has said that Imran Khan’s vision has improved “remarkably” following a follow-up examination conducted inside Adiala jail, where the former prime minister remains incarcerated.

The assessment, released in a statement on Tuesday night, was immediately rejected by Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, which described any medical examination carried out without his personal physicians and immediate family as lacking “transparency and credibility”.

The examination was performed by a two-member medical board consisting of Dr Nadeem Qureshi, head of the vitreoretinal department at Al-Shifa Trust Eye Hospital in Rawalpindi, and Dr M Arif Khan, head of the ophthalmology department at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences in Islamabad. The same team had examined Khan last month inside the jail on the outskirts of Rawalpindi.

According to the institute’s press release, the check-up was a follow-up to a second dose of intravitreal anti-VEGF injection. The treatment, which works by reducing leaking abnormal blood vessels in the retina, can slow or halt further damage and, in some cases, restore lost vision, according to guidance from the American Academy of Ophthalmology.

Doctors examined visual acuity in both eyes and carried out fundoscopy, slit-lamp examination and optical coherence tomography. The board concluded that Khan’s vision had improved “remarkably” and was “substantially good” at this stage. It recommended continuing with the previously planned course of care and treatment.

The PTI response was swift and uncompromising. In a statement, the party said it “categorically rejected” the hospital’s press release. “Any medical examination conducted without the presence of his personal physicians and his immediate family lacks transparency and credibility,” it said.

For months, the party has raised serious concerns over Khan’s health, his access to independent medical care and the repeated denial of family-supervised evaluations. It reiterated its “clear and non-negotiable demand” that the 71-year-old must be examined immediately in the presence of his own doctors and relatives. It also called for his prompt transfer to Shifa International Hospital in Islamabad for what it described as an “independent, transparent and comprehensive medical evaluation and treatment”.

“Nothing short of this will be acceptable,” the statement concluded. “The continued refusal to allow independent medical access only deepens public concern and raises serious questions. The health and well-being of Imran Khan cannot and will not be compromised.”

Khan’s eye condition – right central retinal vein occlusion – first became public in late January. His initial procedure was carried out on 24 January; the government only confirmed it five days later, after media reports. Shortly afterwards, his lawyer Salman Safdar told the Supreme Court that the former premier had suffered a significant loss of vision in his right eye while in custody. A five-member medical team first examined him at Adiala jail on 15 February. Nine days later, he was taken to the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences for the second anti-VEGF injection.

The dispute has become the latest flashpoint in a bitter blame game between the government and the opposition. PTI accuses the authorities of withholding proper treatment and blocking access for Khan’s chosen doctors. The government denies the allegations and insists that appropriate care has been provided. The controversy has drawn international attention from the cricketing world. Last month 14 former international captains, including India’s Sunil Gavaskar and Kapil Dev, issued a joint call for better prison conditions for Khan, describing the former Pakistan captain as “one of the finest all-rounders” the game has produced.

Khan, the founder of PTI and prime minister from 2018 to 2022, has been held at Adiala jail since his arrest in August 2023 on a series of charges that his supporters insist are politically motivated. The latest medical row has only intensified questions about the conditions under which he is being held.