Jailed former PM Imran Khan receives eye treatment as aide demands access for personal doctor

Imran Khan’s health concerns mount in jail

Pakistan’s jailed former prime minister Imran Khan underwent eye treatment on Tuesday, according to a statement from hospital authorities, though a spokesman for the former cricket star said he was not permitted to consult his personal doctor.

Khan has been behind bars since 2023 and was sentenced late last year to 17 years in prison alongside his wife on corruption charges, which both have denied.

Family members and his lawyer say the 73-year-old has lost most of the sight in his right eye.

He was taken to the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) in Islamabad to receive a second round of eye injections, the hospital confirmed.

“Khan was found to be clinically stable,” the statement added.

However, his press adviser Sayed Zulfiqar Bukhari said that “access should be granted to his personal physician and family”.

Last week, more than a dozen international cricket captains concerned for Khan's health urged the Islamabad government to give him "adequate" medical treatment.

Khan was prime minister from 2018 to 2022 before being removed in a no-confidence vote during a political crisis over tensions between his government and Pakistan's powerful military establishment.

He has since faced multiple legal cases on corruption and other charges.

Khan and his party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, maintain that the cases against him are politically motivated.

His arrest triggered nationwide protests in May 2023, some of which turned violent and led to hundreds of arrests.

Khan's lawyer, Salman Safdar, told a news conference on February 12 that "one of Khan's eyes has only 15 percent vision", following a jail visit.

The former premier's son, Kasim Khan, said his father's condition was the result of "medical neglect" during his confinement.

"The responsibility lies squarely with the regime in power, the Army Chief and the puppets enabling this cruelty," Kasim Khan said on social media platform X.