Jailed Pakistan ex-PM Imran Khan gets eye treatment

Pakistan's jailed former prime minister Imran Khan received eye treatment on Tuesday, according to a hospital statement, although a spokesman for the ex-cricket star complained he was not allowed to see his personal doctor.

Khan has been in jail since 2023 and was sentenced late last year along with his wife to 17 years on corruption charges they both deny.

The 73-year-old's family and lawyer say that he has lost most of the vision in his right eye.
Khan was taken to the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) in Islamabad for a second dose of eye injections, the hospital said.

"Khan was found to be clinically stable," it added.

However, Khan's press adviser Sayed Zulfiqar Bukhari said that "access should be granted to his personal physician and family".

Last week, more than a dozen international cricket captains concerned for Khan's health urged the Islamabad government to give him "adequate" medical treatment.

Khan was prime minister from 2018 to 2022 before being removed in a no-confidence vote during a political crisis over tensions between his government and Pakistan's powerful military establishment.

He has since faced multiple legal cases on corruption and other charges.

Khan and his party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, maintain that the cases against him are politically motivated.

His arrest triggered nationwide protests in May 2023, some of which turned violent and led to hundreds of arrests.

Khan's lawyer, Salman Safdar, told a news conference on February 12 that "one of Khan's eyes has only 15 percent vision", following a jail visit.

The former premier's son, Kasim Khan, said his father's condition was the result of "medical neglect" during his confinement.

"The responsibility lies squarely with the regime in power, the Army Chief and the puppets enabling this cruelty," Kasim Khan said on social media platform X.

Agence France-Presse