THE latest blunder by the hybrid government in taking imprisoned former prime minister Imran Khan to hospital for the treatment of a critical eye problem surreptitiously — without even informing his family or his personal physicians — can only be blamed on the PTI founder himself.
Indeed, the responsibility rests squarely on his shoulders, because, if it weren’t for fear of his supporters converging on the hospital in droves, why would the authorities have kept something secret that would have come out in the open within days?
Even after spending 32 months in prison since his arrest in the Toshakhana case, followed by his conviction, Mr Khan’s popularity has not waned nor has his cutting, effective narrative been blunted. So, the prisoner has made his captors themselves captives of fear. He is wielding influence and power way beyond the confines of his cell.
And I say this when I have never voted for him or his party; and when I liked Imran Khan far more as an iconic cricketer and anti-cancer crusader than as a politician with traits defined by a populist rhetoric and disdain for opinions that differ from his own.
Even a man committed to a fitness programme will show signs of wear and tear after a demanding sporting life.
For example, as far as the media is concerned, Imran Khan’s government did exactly what the incumbents are doing. The media, as this newspaper knows well, was punished for merely reporting on the facts, articulating people’s aspirations and issues and calling out those at the helm for overstepping legal and constitutional boundaries when they did.
His tenure in office with his intel chief (now a court-martialled former three-star) as his enforcer, was a nightmare for media houses as well as media professionals with all kinds of oppression unleashed against journalists as well as their employers for not toeing the line — ie, for coverage that was seen as out of line.
And his disdain for the Constitution and the rule of law was evident from his conduct when, after falling out with his benefactors, he faced the certainty of being ousted in an establishment-backed no-confidence vote. He advised his party man, the president, to dissolve the Assembly. Even a judiciary which was largely seen as sympathetic to him could not digest the move and restored the Assembly and resurrected the no-trust vote.
He blamed a ‘foreign (US) conspiracy’ for his ouster from office in April 2022. His supporters, in the eyes of whom he can do no wrong, lapped it up and his narrative snowballed into a firm belief among millions that he’d been horribly wronged.
When his establishment backers of the time were building him up as a viable choice through the media in the first half of the last decade and many media houses gave him endless airtime, he rode the crest of the popularity wave. But side by side, he built a formidable social media machine.
Now when the shoe is on the other foot and most of the media has fallen in line and remains largely unsympathetic to the PTI cause, the founder remains unaffected as his message and narrative reaches all his supporters through social media and other means.
This is what has led to him being kept incommunicado, with family (consisting mainly of his sisters) ‘visits’, as per the jail manual, and party leaders barred for weeks on end because they are seen as the source through which his messages, often stripped of any niceties, reach his US-based social media team that runs his handle and amplifies the messages.
To be honest, these messages so far have not proved effective in mobilising his support base to pour out into the streets to demand his freedom. But yes, the language used is often so bitter and severe — perhaps, because like many other Pakistanis, he believes he was cheated out of an election win in 2024 — that it probably irks those who wield power today. So by restricting his visitors the conduit for his messages is also blocked.
Whether those moves and countermoves are legitimate is a debate for another time but there can be no question that denying he was taken to hospital for a procedure for nearly a week before admitting the truth shows the hybrid set-up in a very poor light.
Even with a rudimentary knowledge of medical issues, I can say that anything to do with the eye is a very serious issue and needs addressing promptly because it can imperil one’s vision. No matter how hard the state may have now decided to be, this is taking things to ludicrous levels.
The former iconic sports star is super fit no doubt, even at 73. Government ministers say he has been given exercise machines in prison and uses them regularly. But even a man committed to a fitness programme like him will show signs of wear and tear after a demanding sporting life.
He deserves to be looked after well and by physicians of his choice. As far as I know, Shaukat Khanum Memorial Trust Hospital’s top executives and respected physicians Dr Asim Yusuf and Dr Faisal Sultan have never been the source of any leak of Imran Khan’s political messages when they have seen him in their professional capacity.
One blunder should not lead to a series of blunders. He is a former prime minister, a popular leader, and a national icon. Whatever hurt and offence his messages may cause, that should not be an obstacle to him receiving the best possible treatment by doctors he has faith in and trusts; his personal physicians’ visit ought to be facilitated. No point in waiting for Feb 8 to pass when he has called for mass protests. Every day counts if you don’t want to lose the narratives war.
The writer is a former editor of Dawn.
Published in Dawn, February 1st, 2026
