ISLAMABAD: Former prime minister Imran Khan underwent a third eye procedure at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) on Monday, the hospital said in a statement, adding that he was found to be in stable condition before and after the operation.
Khan’s health has become an increasingly sensitive political issue in recent months, particularly after a lawyer told Pakistan’s Supreme Court in January that the vision in one of his eyes had significantly deteriorated while in jail custody. Khan has been reported to be undergoing treatment for retinal vein occlusion, a condition caused by the blockage of veins draining blood from the retina that can lead to vision loss.
The former prime minister was given a second dose of the intra-vitreal injection of the Anti VEGF in PIMS last month under doctors’ supervision. He was brought to the hospital for a third time on Mar. 23, the hospital said in its latest press release, adding that prior to the procedure he was found to be “vitally stable” by ophthalmologists.
“After obtaining informed consent and under standard monitoring, adopting all standard precautionary measures and protocols in the operation theater, he was injected with the third dose of intravitreal injection of Anti VEGF under guidance of microscopy by the surgeons,” PIMS said in a press release.
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 press statement said the procedure was performed as a day-care surgery.
“During the course of his stay, he remained vitally stable before, during and after the procedure and was discharged along with instructions for further care and follow-up advice and documents,” the statement concluded.
Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party and his family have rejected his treatment at the government hospital in the past. Both have demanded that the former prime minister be granted access to his personal physician and family. The government insists Khan is being provided the best possible medical care and accused his family and party of taking political advantage of his illness.
Khan, 74, has been imprisoned at the central jail in Rawalpindi since August 2023 in cases he and the PTI 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 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.
