Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar told the Senate on Tuesday that Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan was taken to the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) at his own request.
PIMS had earlier confirmed that, with his consent, Imran received an anti-VEGF intravitreal injection to treat a right central retinal vein occlusion. The PTI rejected the hospital’s report, demanding treatment at Shaukat Khanum Hospital and access for family members.
In the Senate, the law minister described PIMS as Islamabad’s leading public-sector tertiary hospital, noting that a medical board had examined Imran, administered the injection, and observed positive progress in his condition.
Tarar stated that the former premier reportedly asked to be taken in the evening if there were any potential issues related to law and order. “The PTI founder faced one specific issue,” Tarar said, adding that Imran personally requested that the injection be administered to him at PIMS.
Stating that Imran’s health was “completely fine” and that his procedure was successful, Tarar said that there was no further issue concerning the former premier. He also stated that the diagnosis and treatment details had been officially shared through a press briefing by the executive director of PIMS.
Tarar assured the Senate that if any further medical need arose, all facilities would be provided as per the law. He said the federal government fully respected human rights and had never issued any directive to deny medical treatment to any prisoner.
However, the law minister stressed that any further relief regarding medical care, meetings or prison conditions must be sought through the Islamabad High Court, which was the competent appellate forum in the matter.
Further, the minister stated that Imran was a convicted prisoner in corruption cases and was being provided all medical and legal facilities in accordance with the law and prison rules.
Responding to a point raised by the Leader of the Opposition in the Senate Allama Raja Nasir Abbas, Tarar said that the Constitution guaranteed rights to every individual, but the enforcement of those rights was regulated through legal procedures.
He said the former prime minister was convicted after a full-fledged open trial lasting over a year in a National Accountability Bureau corruption case and was currently serving his sentence as a confined prisoner.
The minister said that the former premier was also convicted in another reference involving the under-valuation of a jewellery set, where assets worth millions of rupees were shown at a much lower price, causing loss to the national exchequer.
Source: Express Tribune
