ISLAMABAD: Jailed former prime minister Imran Khan underwent a fifth eye procedure at a government hospital in Islamabad on Monday, the hospital administration said, with doctors reporting signs of clinical improvement in his eye.
Khan, 74, has been undergoing medical treatment for retinal vein occlusion, a condition caused by a blockage in the veins that drain blood from the retina, and which can potentially lead to vision loss. Khan received his fourth intravitreal injection in April this year at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS).
The former prime minister has been incarcerated at Rawalpindi’s Adiala Jail since August 2023 in connection with a series of cases that he and his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party say are politically motivated. His health has become an increasingly sensitive political issue after one of his lawyers told the Supreme Court earlier this year that Khan’s vision in one eye had deteriorated significantly during incarceration.
Khan’s PTI party, along with his sisters, continue demanding the government allow the former premier’s personal doctors to examine his eye condition and shift him to the private Shifa International Hospital in Pakistan.
“Mr. Imran Ahmed Khan Niazi s/o Ikram Ullah Khan Niazi, age 74 years was brought to PIMS for follow up eye treatment i.e. fifth intravitreal injection on 15th June 2026,” the hospital administration said in a statement.
“After obtaining informed consent and under standard monitoring, adopting all standard precautionary measures and protocols in the operation theater, he was injected with fifth dose of intravitreal injection under guidance of microscopy by the surgeons,” it added.
Anti-VEGF injections are widely used to treat retinal vein occlusion and other retinal vascular conditions, helping to reduce swelling and prevent the growth of abnormal blood vessels in the eye.
The statement said Khan was found “clinically stable” following his medical examination prior to the procedure, adding that his optical coherence tomography also showed “clinical improvement.”
PIMS said Khan had remained stable before, during and after the procedure and was advised by doctors to continue treatment.
PTI member and Khan’s close aide Sayed Zulfikar Bokhari said the party was informed about Khan’s eye procedure at PIMS.
“PTI reiterates its longstanding demand that Imran Khan be immediately transferred to a hospital where he can receive proper evaluation and treatment under the supervision of trusted physicians,” Bokhari said in a statement issued to reporters.
Khan was removed from the Prime Minister’s Office in April 2022 through a parliamentary vote of no confidence. He alleges the vote was orchestrated at Washington’s behest and supported by his political rivals backed by Pakistan’s powerful military. Pakistan’s government, the military and Washington have rejected his allegations.
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.
