ISLAMABAD — Pakistan’s opposition party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), on Tuesday accused the government of secrecy and lack of transparency after former prime minister Imran Khan was taken to a government hospital in the early hours for follow-up eye treatment.
According to officials at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims), Mr. Khan received a second dose of an anti-VEGF intravitreal injection to treat a condition diagnosed last month as right central retinal vein occlusion. The procedure was performed as day-care surgery, and he was returned to Adiala Jail shortly afterward.
Doctors said a medical board comprising specialist physicians — including a cardiologist and ophthalmology experts from Pims and Al-Shifa Trust Eye Hospital — evaluated him prior to the procedure. They reported that his vital signs were stable before and after the injection.
The timing of the hospital visit — shortly before midnight — drew sharp criticism from PTI leaders and Mr. Khan’s family, who said they were not informed in advance.
“The situation demands transparency, not secrecy,” the party said in a statement on social media, questioning why the procedure was conducted at night and without the presence of his personal physicians. PTI reiterated its demand that Mr. Khan be treated at Shifa International Hospital under the supervision of doctors of his choice and in the presence of family members.
Aleema Khanum, Mr. Khan’s sister, said the family learned of the hospital visit through news reports and questioned why they had not been notified, arguing that legal and ethical norms require informing relatives before medical procedures involving prisoners.
The government rejected allegations of impropriety. Speaking in the Senate, Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar said the examination was conducted in accordance with jail rules and legal procedures. He explained that the late-night schedule was chosen for security and operational reasons to minimize disruption to hospital services and ensure smooth medical arrangements.
Mr. Tarar added that the medical board included both government and private-sector specialists and emphasized that decisions regarding release, bail or foreign travel for a convicted prisoner fall within the jurisdiction of the courts.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Tariq Fazal Chaudhry said doctors had observed improvement after the first injection and had recommended a second dose. A third injection, he said, is scheduled for March 24.
The episode further intensified political tensions between the government and PTI, which has repeatedly accused authorities of denying Mr. Khan access to his family and personal doctors. Party leaders met officials at the Supreme Court to request early hearings of cases pending before the court and staged protests outside the building demanding what they called humanitarian relief.
Since his incarceration at Adiala Jail, Mr. Khan’s health has remained a politically charged issue, fueling disputes between the government and opposition over transparency, prisoners’ rights and the treatment of a former head of government.
For now, officials maintain that medical care is being provided in line with the law. But for PTI and Mr. Khan’s family, the circumstances surrounding the late-night hospital visit have raised fresh doubts — and added another layer of confrontation to an already fraught political standoff.
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