ISLAMABAD/RAWALPINDI: The Supreme Court on Monday issued a seven-page written order in a case concerning the facilities at the jail and medical examination of Imran Khan, stating that the matter concerning the accused’s residential conditions had now become infructuous.
The court, however, stated that directions had been issued to ensure examination of the PTI leader’s eyesight. A two-member bench — comprising Chief Justice Yahya Afridi and Justice Shahid Bilal Hassan, observed that consistency was found between the reports of the jail superintendent and the “friend of the court,” Barrister Salman Safdar.
According to these reports, the petitioner and the accused, Imran Khan, expressed satisfaction over his security, accommodation, and the quality of food inside the jail. “Consequently, the petitions filed in this regard have been declared infructuous,” says the written order.
According to the order, the report prepared by Barrister Salman Safdar on the directions of the Supreme Court expressed concern over the worsening condition of Imran Khan’s eyesight. In this regard, the court noted that the attorney general had assured the court that a medical examination by a team of specialist doctors would be completed before 16th February.
The court ordered that, in accordance with the law, the accused be allowed to speak over phone with his sons residing in the United Kingdom. The court clarified that after the final decision of the trial court, all interim petitions filed against the criminal trial had become infructuous. However, the petitioner/accused may raise his concerns in the appeal currently pending with the High Court.
The court further ordered that hearings on miscellaneous petitions filed against various interim and procedural orders issued during the criminal trial be adjourned to an indefinite period, and held that they would be fixed again after the issuance of the high court’s decision.
A two-member team of ophthalmologists from the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) and Al-Shifa International Hospital Adiala Jail visited the Adiala Jail Monday morning and expressed complete satisfaction over the ongoing eye treatment of the PTI founder chairman Imran Khan.
Earlier on Sunday, a 5-member medical team had examined the former prime minister’s health. In an official statement, authorities dismissed speculations about the condition of Imran’s eye as unfounded and irresponsible, emphasizing that the patient had shown positive progress.
It was further stated that following the examination, the medial team gave a comprehensive 90-minute briefing to the party’s representatives and patient’s personal physicians and they expressed complete satisfaction over the treatment.
The clarification was issued to ensure that the public and political discourse remains grounded in verified facts rather than conjecture. The specialists noted reduced swelling and better clinical indicators in Imran’s right eye.
According to the report, a copy of which is available with The News, a medical team examined Imran on February 15. The team comprised Dr. Prof Nadeem Qureshi, head of vitreoretinal department of Al-Shifa Trust Eye Hospital, Rawalpindi, and Prof Dr M Arif, head of ophthalmology department of Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS).
Doctors also conducted a slit lamp examination, which, according to the Cleveland Clinic, is a common test an eye specialist conducts to check overall eye health. The test showed that “cornea was clear bilaterally” and “no cells in the anterior chamber”.
In the right eye, the vitreous was clear with a “few fibrillar opacities seen, no cells appreciated”. “Mild intragel hemorrhage seen at 6 o’clock periphery,” it said. It further noted “disc hyperemic and vessels engorged” and “cup obliterated”.
Doctors also conducted an optical coherence tomography (OCT) test — a non-invasive imaging test to take cross-sectional pictures of retina. According to the report, PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Khan and Opposition Leader in the Senate Allama Raja Nasir Abbas visited PIMS on Sunday for a follow-up on Imran’s examination.
It said two doctors, Dr Qureshi and Dr Khan “briefed them in detail on the current health condition” of Imran, while the board members also briefed Imran’s personal physicians Dr Aasim Yousaf and Dr Khurram Mirza on a phone call lasting more than 25 minutes “to the extent of their satisfaction”.
“After a detailed briefing, leaders and personal physicians expressed full satisfaction and confidence over the treatment given so far and follow-up advice recommended by the team of senior doctors,” the report said.
“During the course of briefing by experts, personal physician of Imran Khan including Dr Asim Yousaf and Dr Khurram Mirza were also briefed over phone call (more than 25 minutes) to the extent of their satisfaction,” read the report.
According to the report, the opposition leaders and Imran’s personal physicians expressed “their full satisfaction and confidence” over the treatment given so far and the follow-up advice recommended by the team of doctors.
The examination comes around two weeks after the former prime minister, who has been in jail since August 2023, complained of losing 85% of vision in his right eye. Shaukat Khanum Chief Medical Officer Dr Aasim Yusuf, however, said he “could not confirm or deny the veracity” of what they were told by the medical board that examined the PTI founder.
In a video posted to the official X account of the hospital, Dr Aasim said their conversation with the medical board lasted around 40 minutes. According to Dr Aasim, the two Islamabad-based doctors briefed them on the treatment being administered, the tests conducted and the future course of action.
“They told us, in their view, that Imran Khan had shown significant improvement as a result of treatment and his vision had improved significantly as well,” he said. However, he added that he could not independently confirm or refute the information because he “had not seen” Imran himself or participated in his care.
The physician urged the government to permit him and Dr Faisal Sultan, or doctors nominated by Imran’s family, to see the PTI founder and participate in his care. He also called for shifting the former prime minister to Islamabad’s Shifa International Hospital for further treatment.
Meanwhile, Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar Monday allayed concerns about Imran’s vision and said there was “nothing as such to worry about”. Addressing a lawyers’ gathering at Ferozewala, Tarar said the medical team had expressed complete satisfaction over the ongoing treatment of Imran.
He said Imran had undergone a repeat medical examination. The minister said there was nothing to worry about the so-called “35/25” issue, adding that the medical team had already briefed the opposition leaders and Imran Khan’s personal physicians.
In another related development, Imran’s lawyer Latif Khosa Monday urged the Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Justice Yahya Afridi to direct the authorities to shift the former prime minister to Al-Shifa Hospital.
In a letter sent to the chief justice, Khosa said he was demanding his client’s transfer “for immediate treatment of his ailment, which clearly could not be adequately treated” in the jail. Khosa, in the letter, claimed that his client’s “fundamental and statutory rights have consistently been violated” since his incarceration.
The lawyer said Imran was 73-year-old and that his advancing age and declining health were matters of grave concern not only for the family but for the “people of Pakistan at large”. Khosa added that following a Supreme Court-ordered report, a medical check-up was conducted inside the jail on February 15 and “shockingly, the said examination was carried out in complete absence of his family members, personal doctors, or legal representatives”.
“...Given the findings recorded in the report submitted before this Honourable Court, the conduct of a medical examination in secrecy, without notice to the family or independent doctors, has given rise to serious apprehensions.”
The lawyer demanded that the court direct authorities concerned to provide an attested copy of the medical report and permit immediate access to Imran’s personal doctors — including Dr Faisal Sultan and Dr Aasim Yousaf.
He also said the top court should direct that the former prime minister be shifted to Al-Shifa Hospital for immediate treatment and that his family members be duly informed and granted reasonable access regarding his medical condition and any future medical procedures.
Separately, Imran Khan’s sons have said they fear for their father’s deteriorating health in the Adiala jail and are seeking permission to visit the former prime minister, urging authorities to grant access after more than two years apart.
Speaking to Reuters in London, where they are based, Kasim and Sulaiman, 26 and 29, said they were uncertain about the medical report. They spoke to their father on Thursday for the first time since September.
They said their father usually avoids discussing his health, but during the call he expressed frustration, saying he had been denied treatment for his eye for a few months. “It’s hard not to feel low at times because we’ve been away from him so long,” Kasim said of his father, whom he and his brother call Abba, adding that he should be moved to a proper medical facility and have access to his private doctors.
Staging a sit-in at the Parliament House, the opposition alliance leadership reviewed the situation, following Sunday’s examination of Imran Khan and the related report submitted to the apex court on Monday.
Talking to journalists at the Parliament House, he denied having met the jail administration and maintained that whatever was there was written in the report. He said a meeting of personal doctors should be arranged with the party founder Imran Khan.
To a question, Gohar contended that all their decisions were taken by consensus, whereas the major decisions were taken by Mahmood Khan Achakzai and Allama Raja Nasir Abbas in line with the party founder’s directions.
Achakzai is Chairman of Tehreek Tahaffuz Aiyeen e Pakistan (TTAP), while Allama Nasir Abbas is Vice-Chairman. Gohar emphasized that doctors did not make decisions but only examined and gave opinion. The PTI chairman said he was not doctor and Imran’s personal physicians will check and give an expert report on his health.
Right now, he said these physicians could not confirm or deny the (fresh) health report, demanding that his doctors and family should meet the party founder, as the opposition sit-in at the parliament House continued for the fourth consecutive day on Monday.
“We went to the PIMS and had a meeting there. Achakzai had instructed us to go there,” he explained. To another question, he said during the treatment of PTI founder on Sunday, there was no discussion with the jail administration.
“We wanted the family of the party founder to meet him,” he noted. Likewise, PTI senior leader Asad Qaiser, who is also secretary general of the opposition alliance, said their demand was that the party founder should be allowed to meet his personal doctors.
He noted that their sit-in will continue until the demands were met.
Meanwhile, Federal Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Dr. Tariq Fazal Chaudhry disclosed that Imran Khan will receive a second injection on February 25 and if a laser operation was required, that too would be done.
In a statement on X, he said a detailed medical examination of Imran Khan was conducted on Sunday as per government instructions with complete transparency. The minister said the government had also formally invited the family during Imran’s examination, but nobody came.
He said all the proceedings were carried out under the supervision of independent experts. Tariq Fazal said Imran had already received one injection, while the second would be administered on February 25.
He noted that while the current treatment was showing positive results, the next step was angiogram, after which a decision would be made on laser treatment, if necessary. “Despite his status as a prisoner, Imran Khan is being provided with all medical facilities, while the state has the responsibility to provide quality treatment to every citizen and no negligence was done in his case,” he wrote.
Talking to The News, TTAP spokesman Akhunzada Hussain confirmed their colleagues from KP House and the Parliament Lodges had joined them at the main sit-in and that the main entry and exit gates of the Parliament House had also been opened.
When asked about the opposition alliance’s viewpoint on the fresh health report submitted to the apex court, he said their demand remained the same, including the condition that Imran should be examined by his personal physicians.
However, he added that they would also like to see what his family had to say on the latest report during their news conference on Tuesday (today). Meanwhile, after the obstacles were removed, legislators staging sit-ins outside the KP House and the Parliament Lodges joined the sit-in, led by Achakzai and Allama Nasir Abbas.
Gohar also shared on his social media account some pictures of the sit-in being held at the main lobby of the Parliament House, where Achakzai, Allama Nasir Abbas and other legislators were sitting on chairs.
