- Examination carried out by “five specialists, support staff”.
- The board must submit a report to the chief commissioner: prison administration.
- Chief Commissioner must decide to move ex-PM to the hospital.
The medical check-up of PTI founder Imran Khan has been completed by a newly constituted board comprising five doctors and staff of Adiala Jail on the instructions of the Islamabad High Court (IHC).
The jailed PTI founder has been diagnosed with central retinal vein occlusion (CRVO), a serious eye disorder, according to a report submitted to the Supreme Court by his lawyer and the court’s amicus curiae, Salman Safdar.
The condition occurs when the main vein that drains blood from the retina becomes blocked and is often associated with cardiovascular risk factors such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes and heart disease.
Sources said on Wednesday that the medical team, comprising five doctors and supporting medical staff, conducted a thorough two-hour assessment during which they examined the PTI founder’s affected eye.
In a statement, the prison administration said the Islamabad chief commissioner had formed a new medical board comprising specialist doctors for the health assessment of the jailed former prime minister.
The team includes ENT specialist Professor Altaf Hussain, cardiologist Professor Akhtar Ali Bandesha, Dr Muhammad Ali Arif and Professor Nadeem Qureshi from Al-Shifa Eye Hospital.
The medical board will soon submit a comprehensive report to the chief commissioner, the opinion concluded.
Last week, the IHC directed the capital’s chief commissioner to set up a medical board to assess former prime minister Khan’s health condition, while rejecting a petition for transfer to a private hospital.
The petition had sought Khan’s transfer to Shifa International Hospital, Islamabad, for eye treatment and was heard by a division bench comprising Justice Arbab Muhammad Tahir and Justice Khadim Hussain Soomro.
In a three-page order, the court directed the medical board to submit its recommendations to the chief commissioner at the earliest.
On the basis of the board’s report, the chief commissioner will, in accordance with the law and relevant prison rules, decide whether Khan should be moved outside the prison or continue the treatment in the prison. The bench emphasized that the prison authorities must inform next of kin if a serious medical condition occurs.
The court noted that under Pakistan’s prison rules, the government has the power to transfer a convicted prisoner for special treatment. It clarified that Section 561-A of the Code of Criminal Procedure cannot override executive powers to transfer prisoners.
The IHC ordered that Khan’s family be kept informed of his condition, while Dr. Qureshi stays in touch. It also confirmed that Khan should continue to meet his lawyers and family members as directed by a larger bench.
Earlier, the former prime minister had been taken to the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims) in Islamabad twice from Rawalpindi’s Adiala Jail for treatment of his right eye.
His latest visit took place on February 24 under tight security for a scheduled follow-up examination, marking his second trip to the hospital since late January. He is expected to receive the third injection in the course of treatment on March 23.
