Imran Khan Taken to Hospital for Eye Check as PTI Seeks Access

Imran Khan, Pakistan's former prime minister, was taken overnight from Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi to the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) in Islamabad for an eye examination. PIMS said the check was carried out on the advice of his ophthalmologist, a doctor who specialises in eye care, according to Al Jazeera.

Khan, 74, has been treated for central retinal vein occlusion (CRVO), a blockage affecting the retina, the light-sensitive tissue at the back of the eye, in his right eye. The treatment involves injections into the eye, and he received his first in January. PIMS said he received another injection overnight before he was discharged.

According to the hospital, his vital signs were normal and he was clinically stable. He left PIMS at about 2:30am local time on Wednesday, which is 21:30 GMT on Tuesday, with instructions for further care and follow-up.

Khan served as prime minister from 2018 to 2022 and has been in jail since August 2023. In August, Pakistan's Supreme Court ordered that he be moved to a private hospital of his choice in Islamabad.

His party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), has demanded immediate and unrestricted access to him for his family, personal doctors and legal team. PTI information secretary Sheikh Waqas Akram said the family and personal doctors were not told about the hospital visit, and that the party learned of it from news reports.

The government has taken a different view of his care. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Tariq Fazal Chaudhry said Khan was receiving the medical care he required.

Khan's lawyer, Salman Safdar, gave an account of the visit in court. He told the Islamabad High Court on Tuesday that Khan said his eyesight had improved, but that his blood pressure remained a concern. Safdar was appearing for Khan and his wife, Bushra Bibi, who are appealing against their convictions in a property case.