PTI founder Imran Khan was taken from Adiala jail to a government hospital in Islamabad overnight for treatment of his eye condition, a hospital official told Dawn on Wednesday. The same day, two of his lawyers reached the jail to meet him after an order from the Islamabad High Court (IHC). The two developments show where the dispute over his health stands: some treatment is happening, but his party says it is not the examination the Supreme Court ordered.
The hospital visit
The Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims) official said Mr Khan was brought from Adiala jail in Rawalpindi to Pims during the night of November 10 to 11 for a check-up and follow-up eye treatment, on the advice of his treating ophthalmologist. Before the procedure he had a medical examination including an eye assessment. The official said his vital signs were normal, he was clinically stable and the physical examination was unremarkable.
After informed consent and standard monitoring, the ophthalmology team gave an intravitreal anti-VEGF injection, the official said. Such injections are commonly used for swelling caused by retinal vein blockages. Mr Khan was stable before, during and after it, and was discharged at about 2:30am with instructions for follow-up. His last reported Pims visit for his eye was in June.
His eye problem, right central retinal vein occlusion, came to light in late January, after which he has been taken to hospital several times. He has been in prison since August 2023.
What the party says
PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan said the party learned of the visit from media reports. He repeated the party’s long-standing demand that the Supreme Court’s order of August 18 be fully implemented. That order told the government to move Mr Khan to Shifa International Hospital, a private hospital in Islamabad, for examination and treatment, and to set up a medical board that includes his personal physician and a family member. “Regrettably, this order has remained unimplemented for nearly three months,” Mr Gohar said.
The government took Mr Khan to Pims after that order and then returned him to jail. At the time, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar blamed the security situation created by PTI workers heading for the hospital. The PTI denies that and accuses the government of deliberately ignoring the court. We reported on Uzma Khan’s latest request for an early hearing of the contempt plea over this.
Lawyers reach Adiala
On Tuesday the IHC, hearing appeals by Mr Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi against their convictions in the £190 million case, ordered that lawyers Latif Khosa and Salman Safdar be granted access to them at Adiala. The attorney general had said meetings could happen if the lawyers promised to begin arguments at the next hearing. We covered the hearing and the date set for the appeals.
PTI lawyer Awais Younus Chaudhry said Mr Safdar and Mr Khosa reached the jail on Wednesday, told officials of the court’s order and were later allowed in. Under the order each lawyer is to have a one-hour meeting. It was not clear at the time of the report whether they would see Mr Khan together or separately.
In court, Mr Safdar had said Mr Khan told him his eyesight had improved but that his blood pressure remained uncontrolled, and warned of a risk of brain haemorrhage. That is the lawyer’s account of what his client said, and the government has not responded to the claim in the reports we have seen. Mr Safdar also raised concern about Bushra Bibi’s eyesight and said she told him she is due to undergo another operation on November 15; the Islamabad advocate general said she was receiving treatment and presented records of the facilities provided to her.
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| August 18 | Supreme Court orders his move to Shifa Hospital; he is taken to Pims and back to jail |
| November 2 | Mr Safdar meets him after a seven-month gap |
| November 10 (Tuesday) | IHC orders access for Mr Khosa and Mr Safdar |
| Night of November 10 to 11 | Treated at Pims for his eye |
| November 11 (Wednesday) | Lawyers reach Adiala |
Why it matters
The IHC has allowed Mr Khan meetings twice a week, on Tuesdays and Thursdays, with family, lawyers and associates. His meetings have, however, been largely restricted for months despite several court directives. Access to lawyers matters because his appeals in the £190 million case, in which he was sentenced to 14 years and Bushra Bibi to seven, are due to be argued, and his legal team says it has not had enough time with him or the documents.
On health, there is a gap between what officials describe, a stable patient given a routine eye injection, and what the party fears, which is uncontrolled blood pressure that a full examination could address. A medical board with his own doctor and a family member, as the Supreme Court ordered, would bridge that gap, which is why the PTI keeps returning to it.
What we do not know
- What the lawyers learned in the meeting, and whether they met him together.
- Whether the government will now set up the medical board the Supreme Court ordered.
- When the contempt plea and the main health petition will be heard.
What to watch is the lawyers’ account after the meeting, the next IHC hearing date, and any step by the government on the Shifa Hospital order.
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