By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: A team of specialist doctors was carrying out a medical examination of former Prime Minister Imran Khan inside Adiala jail on Sunday, private Geo television reported, as a sit-in by the main opposition alliance over concerns about his health stretched into a third day.
Khan, who has said he has lost 85 percent of his vision in his right eye because of a medical condition, was granted access to the doctors on the orders of the Supreme Court. His lawyer, Salman Safdar, visited him in the jail earlier this week and later filed a report with the bench headed by Chief Justice Yahya Afridi, setting out concerns about his client’s condition and seeking treatment.
Geo reported that an ambulance equipped for eye examinations was stationed inside the prison compound. An initial medical report on the PTI founder had been sent to the Punjab Home Department. The report included a full chart of his blood pressure, blood sugar levels, cholesterol and other vital signs. A separate assessment of his eye condition was forwarded from Rawalpindi, while consultancy reports and details of the medical staff involved in his care were also submitted. The documents recorded the dates and names of the doctors who had examined him, along with all relevant particulars. The doctors on duty were checking Khan and recording his vital signs three times a day, with a daily log being maintained. The Punjab Home Department had asked Adiala jail authorities for a comprehensive medical report.
The developments came as the Tehreek-i-Tahafuz-i-Ayin-i-Pakistan (TTAP) alliance, the main opposition grouping, continued its sit-in at Parliament House in Islamabad. The protest began after the Supreme Court was told on Feb. 12 that Khan had only 15 percent vision remaining in his right eye. TTAP leaders said they would remain in place until the former prime minister was shifted to a hospital chosen by his own doctors. Government officials had indicated on Saturday that Khan, who is being held in the Rawalpindi jail, would soon be moved to a hospital, but no such move had taken place by Sunday afternoon.
At 3:45 p.m. local time, Khan’s sister Noreen Khanum posted on X that an ambulance had reached Adiala jail to transfer him to a hospital. “But this is unacceptable to us without us and Khan sahib’s personal doctors being taken into confidence,” she wrote. PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan posted pictures on social media showing himself and other senior figures from the alliance, including TTAP Chairman Mehmood Khan Achakzai, Senate opposition leader Allama Raja Nasir Abbas, PTI Secretary General Salman Akram Raja, MNA Asad Qaiser and Senator Faisal Javed, sitting inside Parliament House.
A TTAP leader, who declined to be named, said the situation had become more confusing. The leader said the alliance had been informed late on Saturday that Khan would be shifted to Shifa International Hospital in Islamabad, but the government had insisted on changing the composition of the medical board to avoid appearing to back down. “We decided to show flexibility and gave names of a few more doctors, and there was an understanding that we will not reveal their names in the media,” the leader said. “However, today we have been getting messages that first we should call off the sit-in and then Imran Khan will be shifted to the hospital and a medical board will be announced. How can we call off the sit-in without implementation of our demands?”
The leader added that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi, who is also staging a sit-in at KP House in the capital, had contacted government representatives to warn that the situation could slip out of control if not resolved quickly. Government officials had replied that the interior minister was in Sri Lanka and the chairs of the National Assembly and Senate were also abroad, making decisions difficult.
TTAP spokesperson Akhunzada Hussain Yousafzai said the alliance had decided to continue the sit-in until its demands were met. He described as unfortunate reports that police were not allowing breakfast to be delivered to the opposition leaders inside Parliament House. “There are a number of leaders who have diabetes, and it becomes difficult for them to maintain their sugar levels. I fear that some may faint,” he said.
Khan’s sister Aleema Khanum said earlier on Sunday that the family would not accept any medical board formed without the approval of the former prime minister’s personal doctors. She referred to a social media post by Parliamentary Affairs Minister Tariq Fazal Chaudhry announcing the formation of such a board and to reports that Khan might be shifted to Al-Shifa Eye Hospital in Rawalpindi. “Our demand has been clear from the beginning. Imran Khan shall not be given any treatment without the presence and approval of his personal doctors and family members,” Aleema said. “We do not accept any medical board they set up and control. We do not accept any reports or results they manufacture.”
Aleema added that the family was extremely worried about the authorities’ resistance to involving specialists recommended by Khan’s own doctors. “Why are they rejecting the supervision by Imran Khan’s personal doctors? Why are they rejecting the presence of Imran Khan’s family members? Why such fierce resistance? Are they hiding something?”
Khan’s longtime personal physicians, Dr Aasim Yusuf and Dr Faisal Sultan, issued a joint video statement on Sunday. They said the former prime minister required urgent retina specialist care for central retinal vein occlusion and severe vision loss, as well as a full multidisciplinary evaluation at a tertiary hospital such as Shifa International in Islamabad.
The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) expressed grave concern over reports of the deteriorating health of PTI-affiliated prisoners, particularly Khan and former Punjab health minister Yasmin Rashid. In a statement, the rights body called on the interior ministry, the Punjab Home Department and prison authorities to ensure immediate, independent medical examinations and uninterrupted access to prescribed treatment for all such inmates. “Denial or delay of adequate healthcare to any detainee violates legal and constitutional guarantees, including under the Prison Rules, as well as Pakistan’s human rights obligations,” the HRCP said.
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