By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: The opposition Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party on Sunday demanded that Bushra Bibi, the wife of the party’s jailed founder and former prime minister Imran Khan, be immediately transferred to a hospital for diagnosis and treatment after a medical document describing her deteriorating vision began circulating on social media.
The document, dated March 28 and titled “Information regarding the health condition of female convicted prisoner Bushra Bibi, wife of Imran Khan Niazi,” states that she was examined by a doctor from the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences. According to the report, Bibi has experienced blurring of vision and a black spot in her right eye for the past 11 days. She also complained of headaches and flashes in the same eye, the document said. It carries what appears to be the signature of a medical officer at Adiala jail, where she is being held, but its authenticity has not been independently verified.
PTI Central Information Secretary Sheikh Waqas Akram described the reports as evidence that Bibi is being “deliberately deprived of basic human rights and essential medical care.” “This is not mere negligence, but a continuation of a calculated act of cruelty and political victimisation,” Akram said. He called it “condemnable” that a female prisoner already detained under what he termed controversial circumstances was being subjected to “dangerous neglect” regarding her eyesight. Delays in addressing vision impairment, he warned, could lead to more serious complications.
Akram demanded that Bibi receive “the best possible medical care” at a well-equipped hospital and that all her medical records be made public “with complete transparency.” He said that if anything happened to her, the incumbent government and the jail administration would be held responsible. “This issue is not about an individual’s health. It is a blot on the system,” Akram said. “The violation of fundamental human rights under the guise of political revenge is unacceptable. Such actions not only contravene the Constitution but also violate the norms of any civilised society.”
He said the PTI had been pressing for information about Bibi’s condition and had received confirmation of an eye problem. The party, in a separate statement, said she had been diagnosed with posterior vitreous detachment, along with myopia and astigmatism, and called the development “deeply concerning.” The latest concerns about Bibi come against the backdrop of ongoing health issues involving her husband. In January, reports surfaced that Khan himself was suffering from an eye ailment. Those worries intensified last month when his lawyer reported partial vision loss in Khan’s right eye. Doctors later confirmed that, with corrective glasses, Khan has 6/9 partial vision in the affected eye.
On Monday, Khan underwent a third eye procedure at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences, where he received another dose of an anti-VEGF intravitreal injection, according to a hospital statement. Khan’s family and his personal physicians have repeatedly asked that he be admitted to Shifa International Hospital in Islamabad and that his own doctors be granted access to him. The requests have gone unheeded, fueling a bitter blame game between the government and the opposition.
Opposition leaders accuse the authorities of lacking transparency, failing to provide adequate treatment and blocking access to Khan’s preferred medical team. The government has denied the allegations. Akram said the PTI would continue to raise the issue “at every forum” and take all necessary steps “to ensure that the matter reaches its logical conclusion.”
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