ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) has said jailed former prime minister Imran Khan was brought to the government hospital for a second eye injection procedure and discharged in stable condition on Tuesday, while his party challenged the transparency of the medical update and demanded independent medical access.
Khan, 74, has been imprisoned at Adiala Jail since August 2023 in cases he and his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party say are politically motivated. His detention has triggered sustained political confrontation between PTI and the federal government, with repeated protests demanding his release, several of which have turned violent.
Khan’s health has become an increasingly sensitive political issue in recent weeks, particularly after a lawyer told Pakistan’s Supreme Court vision in one eye had significantly deteriorated while in custody. Khan has been reported to be undergoing treatment for retinal vein occlusion, a condition caused by blockage of veins draining blood from the retina that can lead to vision loss.
In a press release issued by Dr. Aneeza Jalil, a spokesperson for PIMS, the hospital confirmed that Khan was brought for follow-up treatment on Tuesday.
“After obtaining informed consent, and under standard monitoring, precautionary measures and protocols in the operation theater, he was injected with second dose of intra-vitreal injection of Anti VEGF under guidance of microscopy by Consultant Ophthalmologist, and Consultant Vitreo-Retinal Surgeon of PIMS and Al Shifa Eye Hospital,” the PIMS statement said.
Anti-VEGF injections are commonly used to treat retinal vein occlusion and other retinal vascular disorders by reducing swelling and abnormal blood vessel growth inside the eye.
The hospital said the procedure was performed as a day-care surgery and that Khan was examined prior to the injection by a consultant cardiologist and physician, with ECG and echocardiography reported as normal. The ex-PM remained clinically and vitally stable before, during and after the procedure before being discharged with follow-up instructions, the statement added.
The PTI rejected the hospital’s brief statement as insufficient.
“PTI strongly maintains that a perfunctory two-line procedural note cannot conceivably substitute for a comprehensive, independently verified medical report,” the party said.
It added that given Khan’s custodial status, access should be granted to his personal physician and family, saying continued opacity “serves only to intensify public disquiet and further undermine confidence in the integrity of the process.”
Zulfi Bukhari, a close aide and spokesman for Khan, also dismissed the official account.
“Everything the authorities or the hospital says is irrelevant and only conjecture, until access is granted from confirmation to his personal doctors or family,” he said.
Khan was removed from office in April 2022 through a parliamentary vote of no confidence that he says was orchestrated by his political rivals with backing from the military, allegations both the government and armed forces deny.
Since his imprisonment, Khan has faced multiple convictions and ongoing legal proceedings that authorities say follow due process, while his party describes them as efforts to sideline him from politics.
