Minister says imprisoned Pakistan's ex-PM Imran Khan 'in good health' after eye procedure

Pakistan’s imprisoned former prime minister Imran Khan is in good health after undergoing a medical procedure for an eye ailment at a government hospital, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said on Thursday.

Imran was examined by a team of doctors at Rawalpindi’s Adiala prison, where he is serving multiple prison sentences, before being taken to a government hospital on Saturday, where he underwent a 20-minute medical procedure with his consent. "He is in good health,” Tarar told the private Geo News television channel.

The comments came after Imran Khan’s opposition party spokesman Zulfiquar Bukhari said earlier this week that the former premier was suffering from an eye condition and required "immediate medical attention.”

Bukhari had called for Imran Khan’s personal physician to be granted access, warning on X that any further delay could result in "irreversible harm.”

Tarar’s remarks followed days of speculation on social media that Imran Khan had been taken to a hospital under heavy security over the weekend and returned to jail the same night. Imran Khan has not been seen in public since his arrest in 2023 in a corruption case.

In a statement on Thursday, Bukhari said Tarar’s remarks were "very worrying” and described the handling of the health issue as "opaque and alarming.”

Imran Khan’s family nor his legal team was informed before or after he was taken from prison for medical treatment, Bukhari said, adding that authorities had provided no verifiable details about his condition, the treatment administered or the doctors involved.

Bukhari said the government’s attempt to portray the eye condition as a routine medical matter raised "more questions than answers.”

He expressed serious concerns about Imran Khan’s health and demanded immediate access for his family and personal physicians, as well as full disclosure of the medical procedure and Imran Khan’s current condition.

Bukhari urged human rights organisations to monitor the situation, saying the treatment of a former elected prime minister in custody reflected broader concerns about the rule of law, prisoners’ rights and due process in Pakistan.

After Imran Khan's arrest in 2023,  Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf party, or PTI, initially launched a campaign demanding his release, but the effort later subsided.

Authorities recently restricted meetings between Imran Khan and his family after relatives publicly conveyed political messages urging supporters to stage rallies against the government of Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif.

Associated Press