Shafaqna Pakistan: Salman Akram Raja said on Wednesday that jailed former prime minister Imran Khan is facing “serious health risks in custody,” alleging that he has lost vision in one eye due to mistreatment in jail.
Earlier in February, a report prepared by Barrister Salman Safdar on the direction of the Supreme Court stated that Imran Khan had informed officials that his right eye was functioning at only 15% capacity. The report was submitted to a two-member bench, after which the Supreme Court directed that he be allowed access to his personal physicians at Adiala Jail. Subsequently, a medical board that examined him reported an improvement in his eyesight and did not recommend transferring him to a hospital.
Speaking outside the Supreme Court on Wednesday, Salman Akram Raja said Imran Khan has now spent nearly 1,000 days in detention and claimed that all judicial avenues for relief have effectively been exhausted for the party. He added that PTI believes it has no option left but to take its protest to the streets.
He said cases against Imran and Bushra Bibi, including the Toshakhana case, were fabricated and based on statements from government witnesses.
Raja said every prisoner was entitled to constitutional rights, but meetings with Imran and the signing of legal documents were being restricted despite court orders permitting such meetings.
He said Imran and Bushra Bibi were facing serious “health risks in custody” and added that Imran’s sisters were also being denied meetings with him despite the seriousness of his condition.
PTI secretary general further said that petitions filed before the SC were not being heard, and added that restrictions currently imposed on prisoners were unprecedented.
Raja said Pakistan required political and economic stability, describing Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) as “bathed in blood” and stating that every province had been pushed into crisis.
Senior lawyer Hamid Khan said petitions were being filed in the SC seeking meetings and prison facilities for Imran and Bushra Bibi, saying an appeal had remained pending for a year before being dismissed by the Islamabad High Court (IHC) and questioned how legal documents could be signed if lawyers were denied access to their clients.
In late January, Imran was first taken to the hospital for a minor eye procedure. Five days later, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said that doctors at PIMS had conducted an examination of his eyes and, after obtaining his written consent, carried out a minor medical procedure that lasted around 20 minutes.
Amid controversy surrounding the eye treatment, PIMS confirmed that Imran was administered an anti-VEGF intra-vitreal injection to treat right central retinal vein occlusion.
In March, another medical check-up was conducted at Adiala, after which PIMS stated that Imran had shown significant improvement in his vision following his second dose of an intravitreal anti-VEGF injection. The third dose was subsequently administered on March 23.
Imran’s wife, Bushra Bibi, also underwent a medical examination at Adiala in March after complaining of pain in her right eye. She was reportedly examined by Dr Muhammad Arif Khan, head of the ophthalmology department at PIMS. The medical report stated that she had been experiencing blurred vision and black spots in her right eye; she also reported seeing flashes in the dark and said she was suffering from headaches.
The examination diagnosed Bushra Bibi with posterior vitreous detachment (PVD) in her right eye. The report also identified myopia and astigmatism. After the diagnosis, Bushra Bibi was prescribed eye drops and medication, along with the use of glasses. She was reportedly recommended a follow-up medical check-up after four weeks.
The former first lady then underwent eye surgery on the evening of April 16.
Imran and Bushra Bibi remain incarcerated in Rawalpindi’s Adiala Jail. They were sentenced on December 20, 2025, to 17 years in prison in the Toshakhana-II case, which pertains to allegations that the couple unlawfully retained a Bulgari jewellery set gifted by the Saudi crown prince during an official visit to Saudi Arabia.
Imran has been in custody since August 2023, serving a sentence in a £190 million corruption case. He also faces pending trials under the Anti-Terrorism Act in connection with protests on May 9, 2023.
Source: Express Tribune
