PTI requests immediate transfer of former prime minister to Shifa Hospital for specialized eye treatment
ISLAMABAD:
The PTI has approached the capital’s high court, 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 entertain the application today (Tuesday) along with the objections raised by the court registrar.
The miscellaneous criminal application, filed on Monday under Section 561-A CrPC by senior advocate Latif Khosa, claims that Imran Khan has only about 15% vision left in his right eye.
The petition cites a report submitted to the Supreme Court by amicus curiae lawyer Salman Safdar, which confirmed that prison authorities failed to carry out timely or adequate medical intervention despite the petitioner’s repeated complaints of “dangerous blurred vision”.
He claims this delay ultimately resulted in loss of vision in one eye. He also expresses alarm over a medical check-up carried out inside Adiala Jail on February 15, which was carried out in the “complete absence” of Imran’s family members, personal doctors or legal representatives.
He maintains that they were not given any prior information about the exam.
Imran was subsequently 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 or the procedures performed at the PIMS hospital. Such secrecy is mind-boggling and is not acceptable under any hypothesis,” the petition states.
The petition notes that the authorities’ continued insistence on treating Imran at PIMS, where no retina specialist is available, coupled with the persistent exclusion of his family and personal doctors from information about his health, “has created inevitable doubts.”
He further reveals that Imran’s family has been denied access for the past four to five months, despite prison rules allowing such gatherings. When her sisters approached authorities, they were turned away, the petition alleges.
The matter initially came before the SC, which, by order dated February 12, 2026, adjourned the petitions sine die and ordered that if the petitioner had any grievance, “the appropriate thing to do would be to first approach the high court, where his appeal is pending.”
Following these instructions, the present application has been filed before the IHC, where Imran’s appeal against his conviction in the trial court is still pending.
