Islamabad/Lahore, Feb 24 Former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan was taken to a hospital in Islamabad on Tuesday for treatment of an eye ailment, officials said, even as his party demanded "transparency, not secrecy" regarding his health.
The 73-year-old cricketer-turned-politician, who has been in Adiala Jail, Rawalpindi, since 2023, was diagnosed with central retinal vein occlusion (CRVO) affecting his vision last month.
Khan was brought to the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) in Islamabad for a second dose of anti-VEGF (Vascular endothelial growth factor) intravitreal injection, a hospital doctor said. He was later transferred back to Adiala Jail. He had received treatment on January 24.
"Prior to the procedure, he was examined by a panel of specialists: a consultant cardiologist who also performed echocardiography and ECG (results: normal), and a consultant physician," the doctor said.
"After obtaining informed consent, and under standard monitoring, precautionary measures, and protocols in the operation theatre, he was injected with a second dose of intravitreal injection of anti-VEGF under the guidance of a consultant ophthalmologist and a consultant vitreo-retinal surgeon from PIMS and Al-Shifa Eye Hospital," the doctor added.
The procedure was carried out as a day-care surgery, and Khan's vital signs remained stable throughout, the doctor added. He was discharged after the procedure with instructions for care and follow-up.
PIMS is a leading public hospital, while Al-Shifa Trust Eye Hospital in Rawalpindi is a prestigious eye hospital run by a private trust.
Earlier, Khan's family and his party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, had demanded that he be treated at Shifa International Hospital, a private facility in Islamabad.
Minister of Parliamentary Affairs Tariq Fazal Chaudhry said it was "necessary to clarify that the government took him (Khan) to PIMS under strict security arrangements while fulfilling all legal and humanitarian requirements."
"According to doctors' instructions, there was an improvement in his eyesight after the first procedure, keeping in view which expert physicians recommended a second procedure. Today's process was completed successfully and after clearance from the medical team, he was shifted back to Adiala," he posted on social media.
Chaudhry reiterated that providing medical facilities to prisoners is the responsibility of the state, and that all arrangements were made transparently and in accordance with regulations. He added that Khan would receive a third injection on March 24.
Khan's
