Islamabad, Mar 18 (PTI) A team of doctors on Wednesday visited Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi and examined jailed former prime minister Imran Khan, who is suffering from an ailment in the right eye.
Khan was diagnosed with central retinal vein occlusion (CRVO), a serious eye condition, according to a report submitted to the Supreme Court in January by his lawyer and the court’s amicus curiae, Salman Safdar.
The visit of the team of doctors came following an order by the Islamabad High Court last week after hearing a petition seeking the transfer of Khan to a private hospital for medical treatment.
Official sources said a five-member medical team, accompanied by supporting medical staff, visited Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi and carried out a thorough two-hour examination of the affected eye of the 73-year-old Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf founder.
The jail administration said in a statement that the Islamabad chief commissioner had formed a new medical board comprising specialist doctors for the health assessment of the jailed former prime minister.
The team includes ENT specialist Professor Altaf Hussain, cardiologist Professor Akhtar Ali Bandesha, Dr Muhammad Ali Arif, and Professor Nadeem Qureshi from Al-Shifa Eye Hospital.
The medical board will submit a comprehensive report to the chief commissioner shortly, the statement added.
Earlier, the former prime minister had been taken to the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences in Islamabad twice in the last two months for treatment of his eye. He is expected to receive the third injection in the treatment course on March 23.
Khan is believed to have been suffering from the ailment in the right eye since October last year and is under treatment. According to the government, the condition of his eye as well as his vision has improved following medical interventions.
Separately, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said on X that Khan’s two sons living with their mother in London were “welcome” to visit Pakistan on their National Identity Card for Overseas Pakistanis (NICOP).
He said this in response to a post by Jemima Goldsmith, Khan’s ex-wife, who had asked Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif for help regarding the delay in issuing visas to Kasim and Sulaiman.
“His children are welcome to visit Pakistan on their NICOP cards as Pakistani citizens for which no visa is required. However, they will fully comply with the laws of Pakistan during their stay,” he said.
He also said that Khan’s phone call will be arranged on Eid day with his children, as done in the past as well.
Meanwhile, Khan’s party strongly condemned the government’s refusal to allow his sons to meet their father and the extraordinary delay in the issuance of their visas.
It said that the details shared by Jemima were “not only deeply concerning, but also evidence that the government has failed to uphold basic human values and family rights”.
“Such treatment is being meted out to a man who has served as the country’s former prime minister,” the statement said.
The statement also referred to Tarrar’s statement, saying Imran’s sons had “applied for the renewal of their NICOPs some time ago, yet no decision or response has been given so far”.
Khan has been jailed since August 2023 and is serving a sentence at Adiala Jail in the Al Qadir Trust corruption case. He also faces pending trials under the Anti-Terrorism Act linked to the protest by his party on May 9, 2023. PTI SH ZH ZH
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