Imran Khan brought to PIMS for follow-up eye treatment

Former prime minister and PTI founder Imran Khan was brought to the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) late Monday night for a follow-up eye checkup, reported 24NewsHD TV channel.

The PTI chairman was brought from Central Jail Adiala, Rawalpindi to PIMS in the federal capital.

Strict security arrangements were made at the hospital at the time of arrival of the former prime minister, who stayed there for one-and-a-half-hour.

According to details released by Executive Director PIMS, he was administered the second dose of anti VEGF intravitreal injection at the operation theater.

Before carrying out the procedure, a board of experts, including consultant cardiologists, examined the former prime minister, did his echocardiography and ECG the results of which were normal. Consultant physicians also checked Imran.

According to a statement issued by the Executive Director PIMS, the cardiologist performed Echocardiography and Electrocardiogram (ECG) that showed normal results.

“After obtaining informed consent, and under standard monitoring, precautionary measures and protocols in the operation theatre, he was injected with second dose of intravitreal injection of anti-VEGF under guidance of microscopy by consultant phthalmologist, and consultant vitreo-retinal surgeon of PIMS and Al Shifa Eye Hospital.”

The procedure was performed as a day care surgery.

During the course of his stay, he remained vitally stable before, during and after the procedure, and was discharged along with instructions for care, follow up advice, and the documents, he stated.

Doctors said that the eyesight of the PTI founder had improved further. Later, he was taken back to Adiala Jail.

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

Imran 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.

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

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.

Reporter: Babar Shahzad Turk/AFP