Imran Khan to get medical care at preferred facility, says Tariq Fazal Chaudhry

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Tariq Fazal Chaudhry on Friday said that the government would afford no negligence in Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf founder Imran Khan’s eye examination and medical treatment, adding that they would take place for whichever place orders were given.

PTI counsel Advocate Salman Safdar submitted a Supreme Court-mandated report on Thursday after meeting the former prime minister in Adiala jail earlier this week. Imran informed Safdar that his right eye was now functioning at only 15% capacity after he underwent a medical procedure at the Paklistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) last month.

As a result, the two-member bench comprising Chief Justice of Pakistan Yahya Afridi and Justice Shahid Bilal Hasan ordered that Imran be granted access to his personal physicians in Adiala Jail and allowed telephone contact with his sons. The revelations about Imran’s eye elicited outroar from the opposition ranks and other politicians.

Read: Heavy security deployed outside Parliament House amid TTAP protest

Addressing the matter today in a speech outside Parliament House, Chaudhry said: “Imran’s eye will be examined wherever it is ordered. If he says for Al-Shifa Eye Trust then that is where the eye will be examined and if the CJP recommends him some other doctor then they will be approached. No negligence will be afforded in this. We want that this matter is put before the entire nation that issue is a sensitive issue.”

He said the matter should not be politicised and that appropriate medical care was being provided in line with medical advice.

Chaudhry said Imran had complained of an eye problem earlier and that any negligence, if proven, would carry responsibility.

The minister added that Uzma Khanum had told the media after a meeting with Imran in October that his health was good, and again expressed satisfaction over his condition on December 2. He said Imran did not even mention any eye issue until mid-January.

“To politicise an eye condition is itself a criminal act,” he remarked.

The minister said that on January 16, Imran formally complained of eye discomfort, after which jail authorities transferred him to PIMS in accordance with medical requirements so his eye could be treated at a hospital. He added that an experienced eye specialist had prepared a medical report and that the medical assessment would be compiled again.

“CJP Yahya Afridi is himself looking after the case,” the minister added..

Chaudhry further said that the matter had also been discussed with the Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Mahmood Khan Achakzai.

Read more: Is another judicial murder in the making?

Aleema Khanum slams ‘clear conspiracy’ by govt

Responding to his press conference, Imran’s sister Aleema Khanum strongly criticised it in a post on X, terming it a “clear conspiracy on the part of the government”.

She added: “We do not want Imran Khan to be treated at Al Shifa Rawalpindi. We have repeatedly and unequivocally stated that Imran Khan must be treated at Shifa International Hospital Islamabad, the facility where the identified specialists are based. The decision has been made by his personal doctors, and any examination or treatment must take place there, under the direct supervision of his personal medical team and Dr Uzma Khan.

“There are serious concerns that he may be forcefully moved in the middle of the night to Al Shifa Eye Hospital, Rawalpindi, without informing his family or his personal doctors. Afterwards, it may be falsely claimed that Imran Khan himself requested to be taken there. The reality is that he may not even be aware of this hospital’s existence. This is not acceptable as we have zero trust in those who are responsible for intentionally allowing his eye to deteriorate.”

She earlier questioned why the written order of the Supreme Court had still not been received.

“It is 1pm on Friday, and we have still not received the written order from the Supreme Court,” she said. She said formal written directions were required to ensure that Imran was examined by specialists and treated under the supervision of his own doctors at Shifa International Hospital.

CJP Afridi had given a two-day deadline for implementation of the order; however, Aleema said the directive could not be implemented without a written order. “Given the urgency and the risk to his eyesight, why has the CJP delayed issuing the written orders?” she added.

She said the order had still not been provided as of a post on X at 3:40pm.