ISLAMABAD, Feb 24: Pakistan’s incarcerated former prime minister Imran Khan on early Tuesday was taken from jail to a hospital here for treatment of an eye ailment and later shifted back, officials said.
Khan was diagnosed last month with right central retinal vein occlusion (CRVO) affecting his vision.
He was brought to the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) for a second dose of anti-VEGF intravitreal injection, a doctor at the hospital said. He had received treatment earlier on January 24.
“Prior to the procedure, he was examined by a board of specialists: a consultant cardiologist who also performed echocardiography and ECG (result: normal) and a consultant physician.
“After obtaining informed consent, and under standard monitoring, precautionary measures and protocols in the operation theatre, he was injected with a second dose of intravitreal injection of anti-VEGF under the guidance of microscopy by consultant ophthalmologist, and a consultant vitreo-retinal surgeon of PIMS and Al-Shifa Eye Hospital,” the doctor said.
The procedure was carried out as a day-care surgery and Khan’s vitals remained stable throughout, the doctor added. He was discharged after the procedure with instructions for care and follow-up.
PIMS is a leading public hospital, while Rawalpindi-based Al-Shifa Trust Eye Hospital is a prestigious eye hospital run by a private trust.
Earlier, Khan’s family and his party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), had demanded that he be treated at Shifa International Hospital, a private facility in Islamabad.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Tariq Fazal Chaudhry said it was “necessary to clarify that the government took him (Khan) to PIMS under strict security arrangements while fulfilling all legal and humanitarian requirements”.
“According to doctors’ instructions, there was an improvement in the eyesight after the first procedure, keeping in view which expert physicians recommended a second procedure. Today’s process was completed successfully and after clearance from the medical team, he was shifted back to Adiala,” he posted on social media.
Chaudhry reaffirmed that providing medical facilities to prisoners was the responsibility of the state and said all arrangements were made transparently and in accordance with regulations. He added that Khan would be administered a third injection on March 24.
Meanwhile, PTI demanded “transparency, not secrecy” in Khan’s treatment and reiterated its call for him to be shifted to Shifa International Hospital for what it described as independent and transparent medical care.
In a social media post, Khan’s sister Aleema Khanum said: “We do not trust the diagnosis or test reports from government medical facilities.”
“From the news, we found out that Imran Khan was taken to PIMS again in the middle of the night, supposedly for his second injection in the eye,” she said, demanding that the family be informed before any medical procedure.
Separately, the Tehreek-e-Tahafuz-i-Ayin-in-Pakistan opposition alliance staged a protest outside the Supreme Court demanding Khan’s release from jail. The alliance had also held a protest on Monday seeking early hearings of cases against him.
Khan has been in jail since August 2023 following his conviction in a corruption case. (PTI)
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