Pakistan’s jailed ex-PM taken to hospital overnight for eye examination 

Hind Al Soulia - Riyadh - ISLAMABAD – Pakistan's jailed former prime minister Imran Khan was taken to a hospital overnight for tests and follow-up treatment for his eye condition before being sent back to prison.

Khan, 74, briefly left the Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi for an eye examination at Islamabad’s Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS), the government-run hospital said on Wednesday.

Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party on Wednesday demanded access to the jailed leader, saying his overnight hospital visit raised deeply disturbing questions about his health.

In a statement, PIMS said a medical check was conducted on Khan on the advice of his ophthalmologist.

Khan has received a series of intravitreal injections in his right eye to treat central retinal vein occlusion (CRVO), a condition diagnosed after he reported reduced vision. He received his first injection in January.

PIMS said Khan received another injection overnight.

“His vital parameters were found to be normal. He was clinically stable, and his general physical examination was normal,” the hospital said, adding that he was discharged about 2:30am (21:30 GMT on Tuesday) with instructions for further care and follow-up.

Khan, a former cricket star who served as premier from 2018 to 2022, has been behind bars since August 2023 on multiple corruption charges he denies and calls politically motivated. The government rejects the allegation.

His party said the hospital visit and his return to prison raised “deeply troubling questions” about his health, the quality of his medical care and the transparency surrounding his condition.

“A human being’s health is not a political bargaining chip. Nor can the medical treatment of a former prime minister be reduced to a procedural formality,” the PTI said, adding that the “state bears full responsibility for his safety and wellbeing”.

“His family, personal doctors and legal team must be given immediate and unrestricted access,” the party said.

During a hearing on Tuesday, Khan’s lawyer Salman Safdar told the Islamabad High Court that while Khan had said his eyesight had improved, his blood pressure remained a concern.

Safdar had appeared on behalf of Khan and his wife, Bushra Bibi, to appeal against their convictions in a property case.

In response, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Tariq Fazal Chaudhry told reporters that Khan was receiving the required medical care and his treatment was not being neglected.

In August, the Supreme Court ordered that Khan should be moved to a private hospital of his choice in Islamabad. Instead, he was taken to PIMS and returned to jail.