PTI demands immediate transfer of former PM to Shifa Hospital for specialized eye treatment
ISLAMABAD:
The PTI has approached the High Court in the capital seeking immediate transfer of jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan to Islamabad’s Shifa International Hospital for specialized eye treatment under the supervision of his personal doctors.
A division bench of the Islamabad High Court (IHC), comprising Justice Arbab Muhammad Tahir and Justice Khadim Hussain Soomro, will consider the application today (Tuesday) along with the objections raised by the court registrar.
The miscellaneous criminal application, filed under Section 561-A CrPC on Monday by senior advocate Latif Khosa, states that Imran Khan has only about 15 per cent vision left in his right eye.
The petition cites a report submitted to the Supreme Court by amicus curiae lawyer Salman Safdar, who confirmed that prison authorities failed to undertake timely or adequate medical intervention despite the petitioner’s repeated complaints of “blurred and dangerous vision.”
This delay, he claims, ultimately led to loss of vision in one eye. He also expresses concern over a medical examination carried out in Adiala prison on February 15, carried out in the “total absence” of Imran’s family members, his personal doctors or his legal representatives.
No prior information was given to them regarding the exam, it is claimed.
Imran was then taken to the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) on February 23 for further procedures, again excluding his personal doctors, Dr Faisal Sultan and Dr Asim Yousaf, as well as his family members and lawyers.
“Nothing is known about the outcome of the petitioner’s medical examination and/or the procedures conducted at PIMS Hospital. Such secrecy is mind-boggling and unacceptable under any circumstances,” the petition said.
The petition notes that the authorities’ continued insistence on treating Imran at PIMS, where no retinal specialist is available, coupled with the continued exclusion of his family and personal doctors from information regarding his health, “has created unavoidable doubts.”
It further reveals that Imran’s family has been denied access to the site for the past four to five months, despite prison rules allowing such meetings. When her sisters went to authorities, they were turned away, the request states.
The matter was first brought before the SC, which, by an order dated February 12, 2026, adjourned the petitions sine die and directed that if the petitioner had any grievance, “the appropriate course would be to first approach the High Court, where his appeal is pending.”
Following these instructions, the present application was filed at the IHC, where Imran’s appeal against his conviction in the trial court remains pending.
