Imran’s sister Noreen falls into drain during construction in Rawalpindi

Noreen Niazi, sister of former Prime Minister Imran Khan, was injured on Tuesday after falling into an under-construction drain while on her way to a scheduled family visit at Adiala Jail.

Access to Imran has been a point of contention in recent weeks, as scheduled meetings with his family on Tuesdays and Thursdays have been repeatedly blocked. Despite these setbacks, family members continue their attempts to reunite with the imprisoned leader.

Niazi, along with other Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leaders, was in Dahgal Naka attempting to meet the jailed PTI founder when they were stopped by police at a checkpoint.

As they attempted to cross the construction site on foot, Niazi lost his balance and fell into a drain that was being constructed as part of a sewer line on Adiala Road. She was rescued from the drain and taken to a safe place.

Another woman, identified as Sadaf, also fell into the drain and suffered serious injuries. Sadaf was later shifted to a government hospital for immediate treatment.

Read more: Khosa expresses concern over Imran’s health

Imran has been held in Adiala Jail since August 2023 following a series of convictions and legal cases that followed his ouster from power in 2022. He was first arrested in August 2023 and sentenced to prison on corruption-related charges, and has since faced multiple sentences, including a 17-year sentence in a Toshakhana corruption case and a 14-year sentence in the Al-Qadir Trust case, both of which, According to him and his party, they are politically motivated.

Imran was brought to PIMS for follow-up eye treatment i.e. second dose of anti-VEGF intravitreal injection in the early hours of Tuesday.

Before the procedure, he was examined by a specialist committee, which included a consultant cardiologist who also performed echocardiography and ECG.

Last week, a medical board that examined him reported an improvement in his vision and did not recommend transferring him to a hospital. According to his medical report, obtained by The express PAkGazetteHis vision in his right eye has improved from 6/36 to 6/9, while his left eye retains 6/6 vision with the use of glasses. The assessment was carried out by Dr Nadeem Qureshi and Dr Arif, after a detailed examination at Adiala Jail.

Also read: Imran agreed to apologize on May 9

According to Imran’s medical report, the anterior segment of both eyes was normal and the cornea was clear. Mild intragel hemorrhage was noted at the edge of the right eye and moderate retinal hemorrhage was noted in all four quadrants.

The swelling of the macula in the right eye was decreasing and the macular thickness was reduced from 550 to 350 microns. The board described the ongoing medication and treatment and recommended OCT angiography and fundus fluorescein angiography after completion of anti-VEGF therapy, the report added, although no recommendation was made for Imran’s transfer to a hospital.