By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: Imran Khan, former prime minister and founder of the opposition Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party, underwent his fourth intravitreal injection at a state-run hospital in the capital on Tuesday as treatment for a serious retinal condition that has already claimed most of the vision in his right eye.
Hospital officials at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences said Khan, 74, remained clinically stable throughout the procedure, which was performed as daycare surgery. An optical coherence tomography scan conducted before the injection showed signs of clinical improvement, the hospital said in a statement. He was discharged hours later with instructions for follow-up care and medical documentation.
The procedure marked the latest chapter in a medical saga that has become a flashpoint in Pakistan’s bitterly polarised politics. Khan has been held at Rawalpindi’s Adiala prison since August 2023 on a series of convictions his party insists are politically motivated. His lawyers and supporters have repeatedly questioned whether he is receiving adequate treatment behind bars, while the government and prison authorities have denied any mistreatment or negligence.
According to the hospital, Khan was brought from Adiala jail on Monday evening for the scheduled injection. Ophthalmologists examined him beforehand and found him stable. The injection was administered under microscopic guidance in the operating theater after informed consent was obtained and with all standard safety protocols in place. He remained “vitally stable before, during and after the procedure”.
The treatment regimen began after Khan was diagnosed with central retinal vein occlusion in his right eye, a condition in which the main vein draining blood from the retina becomes blocked. The ailment, which commonly affects older adults, is often linked to cardiovascular risk factors such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes or heart disease. Khan has reported losing 85 percent of the vision in the affected eye, according to a medical report submitted to the Supreme Court by his lawyer and the court’s amicus curiae, Barrister Salman Safdar.
The first injection was administered on Jan. 24, followed by a second on Feb. 24 and a third on March 23. Tuesday’s procedure was the fourth in the series. The health of the jailed former premier has fueled months of contention between the government and the opposition alliance that includes Khan’s PTI and the Tehreek Tahaffuz Ayeen-i-Pakistan.
PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan confirmed on the social media platform X that Khan had been taken to the hospital overnight for the injection and a medical checkup. “Whatever the treatment, our concern remains unanswered,” he wrote, reiterating the party’s long-standing demand that Khan and his wife, Bushra Bibi, be allowed treatment under the supervision of their personal physicians and with family members present. “This is their fundamental right,” Gohar said.
The opposition alliance issued a sharper rebuke. TTAP spokesman Hussain Ahmed Yousafzai condemned the decision to move Khan without his private doctors or family, calling it “a violation of basic human rights as well as the violation of legal and constitutional rights provided under the Constitution of Pakistan.” He demanded immediate access for Khan’s personal physicians and family members, describing the restrictions as “a question mark on the rule of law.”
Opposition figures have also pressed for Khan’s transfer to Shifa International Hospital, a private facility in Islamabad, and have accused authorities of lacking transparency about his condition. Government and jail officials have rejected the allegations, insisting that Khan has received appropriate medical care. The medical drama unfolded against the backdrop of Khan’s broader legal troubles. Ousted as prime minister in a parliamentary no-confidence vote in 2022, he has faced dozens of cases, including charges related to the alleged mishandling of state gifts and an unlawful marriage. Some convictions have been suspended or overturned on appeal; others remain pending. Khan denies all wrongdoing and maintains that the prosecutions are intended to sideline him from politics.
His wife, Bushra Bibi, is also incarcerated at Adiala prison. On April 17 she underwent surgery for retinal detachment at a Rawalpindi hospital, according to jail authorities. She is serving a 17-year sentence in connection with the same state gifts case that has ensnared her husband. PTI officials have similarly questioned the conditions of her confinement and access to medical care.
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