Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf founder Imran Khan. Photo: Reuters/file
ISLAMABAD:
The Federal Government’s Constituted Medical Council reported an improvement in the vision of former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s right eye.
The medical board, consisting of two senior ophthalmologists – Dr. Nadeem Qureshi and Dr. Arif – examined Imran Khan in Adiala Jail on Sunday.
According to their two-page report, unaided vision in Imran’s right eye was recorded at 6/24 (partial), while the left eye measured 6/9. With glasses, his vision improved to 6/9 (partial) in the right eye and 6/6 in the left.
The report stated that the anterior segment of both eyes was normal and the cornea was clear. It noted mild vitreous hemorrhage at the rim of the right eye and moderate retinal hemorrhage in all four quadrants.
The macular swelling in the right eye was decreasing, with the macular thickness reduced from 550 to 350 microns.
The board outlined ongoing medication and treatment and recommended OCT angiography and fundus fluorescein angiography after anti-VEGF treatment was completed. The board made no recommendation for Imran’s transfer to a hospital.
After the medical assessment, PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan and Leader of the Opposition in the Senate Allama Raja Nasir Abbas were briefed on Imran’s condition during a session at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) on 15 February.
His personal physicians, Dr. Asim Yousuf and Dr. Khurram Mirza, was also informed over phone and reportedly expressed satisfaction with the ongoing treatment.
Separately, Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar said Imran had normal 6/6 vision in one eye while the other eye achieved approximately 70% vision with glasses.
Speaking at a lawyer’s event in Ferozewala, he said the specialist medical team expressed satisfaction with the treatment provided and briefed opposition leaders and Imran’s personal doctors. He added that there is nothing to worry about.
Likewise, Attorney General of Pakistan Mansoor Usman Awan shared the contents of the medical reports with Chief Justice of Pakistan Yahya Afridi.
Meanwhile, PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan, speaking to The Express Pakinomist on the fourth day of the opposition sit-in outside the Parliament House, said the protests would continue until their demands were met.
Gohar added that Imran’s health should not be treated as a political issue. “He should have the best medical facilities. This concerns every Pakistani,” he said. The PTI chairman demanded that Imran be treated at a hospital suggested by his family and personal doctor.
“His treatment should be under their supervision so that the full facts can be established. How did this blood clot occur? How did his eye deteriorate so quickly within three months?” Gohar asked. He said the party was informed that doctors had visited Imran and a report may have been filed.
“That report will be submitted to the Supreme Court. Once we go through it, we will examine its contents,” he said, adding that the party wanted Imran’s neurologist to conduct a personal examination before the family could be satisfied.
However, a section in the PTI is reportedly unhappy with Advocate Gohar and Allama Raja Nasir Abbas for visiting PIMS to receive a briefing on Imran Khan’s health. They believe that the party leadership should have informed the workers.
Former Additional Attorney General Tariq Mahmood Khokhar stated that the medical report confirms that Imran Khan suffered from Central Retinal Artery Occlusion (CRAO).
“CRAO is a blow to the eye – a blood clot blocks a blood vessel in the retina. The best medical institutions in the United States, including the Mayo Clinic, Cleveland Clinic and Johns Hopkins, confirm that CRAO is not an isolated ophthalmic disorder, but a vascular emergency.
“CRAO is associated with a markedly increased risk of blood clots entering vital organs. A blood clot in the brain can cause a stroke; a blood clot in the pulmonary circulation can result in a pulmonary embolism; and a blood clot in the coronary arteries can cause a myocardial infarction,” he said.
Khokhar maintained that these are life-threatening emergencies that require immediate intervention. “Make no mistake: knowingly or not, the duly elected Prime Minister of Pakistan endured, and continues to endure, potentially fatal conditions,” he added.
He further said that Imran Khan’s medical condition necessitates urgent systemic evaluation and treatment in an appropriate hospital setting.
“The reported onset of symptoms in October 2025 is clinically significant. The prison authorities were criminally reckless. They are known to act with impunity. An unelected government that exists solely by the threat or use of force against its citizens holds no one accountable.
“It chooses to see no evil, hear no evil and speak no evil. The judiciary acquiesces to the executive and plays ignorant. The stage is set for a national tragedy of the most catastrophic kind,” he argued.
Former federal minister Fawad Chaudhry said that the latest medical reports indicate that Imran Khan has suffered severe vision loss in his right eye due to retinal occlusion. But without the direct involvement of his family and personal doctors, he said, the results remain questionable in the public eye.
He further stated that the exclusion of independent doctors raises suspicions that the government’s refusal to transfer Imran to a hospital may be politically motivated rather than medically justified, thereby undermining public confidence in official reports.
Fawad also said after the 26th constitutional amendment, the judiciary has lost its status and approaching the Supreme Court in such cases has become more of a formality.
PTI lawyer Barrister Taimur Malik said there remains a clear trust deficit regarding Imran Khan’s eye treatment and general health.
“The government needs to provide access to his personal doctors and family to ensure credibility and transparency in the treatment process. The Supreme Court can play an important role by directing the government to provide such access and to take further necessary measures recommended by a neutral medical panel,” he added.
