- PTI demands family, legal team consultation before any transfer.
- Imran’s legal, human rights must be fully restored: Achakzai.
- Ex-KP CM Gandapur describes eye condition as highly sensitive.
The sit-in staged by lawmakers from Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and the opposition alliance Tehreek Tahaffuz-e-Aiyeen Pakistan (TTAP) entered its third consecutive day on Sunday, despite the government’s decision to shift jailed former prime minister Imran Khan to a hospital over his health, particularly his reduced right-eye vision.
The former ruling party has rejected any move to transfer its jailed founder to a hospital without prior approval from his family.
A day earlier, the federal government decided to shift Imran — who is reportedly suffering from an eye ailment which, according to the party, has reduced his right-eye vision to 15% — to a hospital.
Taking to X, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Tariq Fazal Chaudhry said: “Considering his health, it has been decided to shift him to a hospital and form a medical board.”
Imran, who has been in jail since August 2023, faces several cases ranging from corruption to terrorism, following his ouster from power through the opposition’s no-confidence motion in April 2022.
The protest demonstrations are being staged at the Parliament House, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa House and the Parliament Lodges, with National Assembly Opposition leader Mehmood Khan Achakzai and Senate Opposition Leader Allam Raja Nasir Abbas, KP Chief Minister Sohail Afridi and former CM Ali Amin Gandapur also among the protesting politicians along with other opposition lawmakers.
In separate statements issued on Sunday, former Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chief minister Ali Amin Gandapur and Opposition Leader in National Assembly Mahmood Khan Achakzai expressed concern over reports suggesting a possible transfer to a hospital.
Achakzai demanded that any medical decision regarding Imran must involve consultation with his family and legal team. He stressed that all legal and human rights of the incarcerated PTI founder must be fully restored.
Meanwhile, a PTI spokesperson said that shifting the former premier to a hospital without taking his family and personal doctors into confidence would be unacceptable. The spokesperson urged authorities to ensure immediate treatment on humanitarian grounds, adding that delays in medical care were regrettable.
The spokesperson said that the sit-in would continue until the PTI founder is transferred to Al-Shifa Hospital.
Speaking to media representatives outside the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa House, Gandapur described the eye-related health issue of the PTI founder as highly sensitive.
He said that recent remarks by government ministers about transferring the detained leader to a hospital were a positive step, noting that such a move had been one of the core demands of the ongoing protest.
Responding to questions about whether a hospital transfer could end the sit-in, Gandapur said the decision would ultimately rest with individuals authorised by the PTI founder.
Gandapur said that if the government failed to shift him to a hospital, the party would expand the scope of its protest.
‘Medical panel could not reach Adiala Jail’
Meanwhile, a medical panel constituted for Imran’s examination could not reach Adiala jail between Saturday and Sunday night.
According to sources, the government has formed a special medical panel to conduct his assessment, which includes Dr Amjad and Professor Dr Nadeem Qureshi.
Officials said any decision regarding the transfer of the PTI founder to a hospital would be taken in light of the medical board’s recommendations.
Imran diagnosed with CRVO
The latest tensions between the government and the PTI follow last month’s confirmation that Imran underwent a medical procedure for his eye at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims).
The former premier was diagnosed with a serious eye condition known as central retinal vein occlusion (CRVO), a disorder that commonly affects older adults and is linked to underlying cardiovascular risk factors such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes and heart disease.
Pims executive director Rana Imran Sikandar later confirmed that a team of senior doctors assessed Imran’s condition before discharging him.
Sharing details of the treatment, Dr Sikandar said that Imran underwent a specialised medical procedure after doctors diagnosed a condition affecting the vision in his right eye.
He said the procedure was performed in a sterile operating theatre under close monitoring and was completed successfully in about 20 minutes.
According to a medical report submitted to the Supreme Court, the PTI founder has said that he has been left with only 15% vision in his right eye.
“According to the petitioner, he was diagnosed with a blood clot that caused severe damage, and despite the treatment administered — including an injection — he has been left with only 15% vision in his right eye,” stated a seven-page report submitted by PTI counsel Salman Safdar following his visit to Adiala Jail.
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