- Party leaders say Imran’s personal doctor ‘turned down’ meeting.
- Claim processing rights are violated in custody.
- Leaders cite Nawaz Sharif’s medical treatment in 2019.
LAHORE: Jailed Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leaders have written to the Chief Justice of Pakistan, Justice Yahya Afridi, raising serious concerns over alleged obstruction of medical and legal access to the party’s founder, Imran Khan, and urging him to intervene to ensure justice in his treatment.
In a letter issued through their lawyer, Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Dr. Yasmin Rashid, Ijaz Chaudhry, Omar Sarfraz Cheema and Mahmood-ur-Rashid that the former prime minister has been repeatedly denied access to his personal doctor, family members and legal advisers during treatment.
The development came a day after Imran Khan received a second eye injection at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) in Islamabad.
The former prime minister, who has been imprisoned since August 2023, has been diagnosed with a serious eye condition known as central retinal vein occlusion (CRVO). A report submitted to the Supreme Court earlier this month stated that he has lost approximately 85 percent of the vision in his right eye.
In the letter, the PTI leaders drew a comparison with former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s medical treatment in 2019. They stated that when Nawaz Sharif was shifted to Services Hospital in Lahore due to low platelet count, the government ensured that he received proper medical care.
They added that Nawaz’s personal physician, Dr. Adnan, attended all meetings of the medical council and that his family and legal advisers had full access to him.
They further said that Nawaz was allowed to travel to England for treatment of his heart condition, where he had previously received medical attention.
The PTI leaders alleged that the incumbent government had engaged in “cloak-and-dagger” behaviour, initially denying that Imran Khan was ill and later issuing statements after reports of his CRVO diagnosis emerged.
The letter said his processing rights were ignored, his consultants’ access was limited and his family and personal lawyer were not allowed to meet him. It added that the PTI founder’s family was informed about his second eye injection only after the procedure had been carried out, at around 02.00.
The PTI leaders also claimed that the government was deliberately creating obstacles to maintain political control, accusing it of lacking a public mandate and trying to avoid political instability.
They appealed to the Chief Justice to take cognizance of the matter and ensure that Imran Khan gets due access to his personal doctor, legal advisers and family members in accordance with the law.
