Imran | Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: A meeting with incarcerated PTI founder Imran Khan remained out of reach for the party on Thursday, while jailed party leaders called on the government to reconsider its approach toward the former premier. On Wednesday, PTI Secretary General Salman Akram Raja had issued a list of six people for a meeting with Imran. The list had included MNAs Shahid Khattak, Shabbir Ali Qureshi, Javed Waraich, Adil Bazai, Sohail Sultan, and also Major (Retd) Fayyaz Ahmed. The list was sent to the jail authorities as per the direction of the apex court. However, on Thursday, Qureshi told Dawn that when he, alongside other PTI leaders, reached Adiala jail, they were not allowed to meet Imran. “We had arrived at 1:30pm and informed the jail administration that, as per the directions of the court, we should be allowed to meet Khan sahib. They told us that names have been forwarded for approval, and suggested we wait,” he said. Qureshi said that they waited till 3pm, which was the cut-off time for jail meetings during R...

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims) said on Tuesday night that PTI founder Imran Khan was examined at Adiala jail for the follow-up treatment of his eye ailment, which showed that his vision had “improved remarkably”. However, the party asserted that any medical examination carried out without the presence of Imran’s personal physicians and his immediate family lacked “transparency and credibility”. In a press release, a copy of which is available with Dawn, the Pims administration said that Imran was examined by a medical board comprising Dr Nadeem Qureshi, the head of the vitreoretinal department at Al–Shifa Trust Eye Hospital in Rawalpindi, and Dr M Arif Khan, the head of the ophthalmology department at Pims, Islamabad. The same team had examined Imran last month in Adiala jail, where the former premier is incarcerated. “This examination was performed as a follow-up of his second dose of intravitreal injection of anti-VEGF,” the press release said. According to the American Academy...

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) was moved on Monday with a plea seeking the immediate shifting of incarcerated PTI founder Imran Khan to Shifa International Hospital for specialised eye treatment, alleging that jail authorities have been conducting medical examinations in complete secrecy. A similar plea was submitted in the Supreme Court on February 25, following Imran undergoing a government-facilitated follow-up treatment for his eye ailment. Monday’s criminal miscellaneous application was filed under Section 561-A CrPC by senior counsel Sardar Latif Khosa. The petition claimed that Imran — now 73 years old and incarcerated since August 2023 — has been left with only approximately 15 per cent vision in his right eye. The application cites a report submitted to the SC by amicus curiae Barrister Salman Safdar, which confirmed that despite the petitioner’s repeated complaints of “blurred and hazardous vision,” no timely or adequate medical intervention was undertaken by jail authorities, ultimately ...

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court on Friday raised objections to a plea seeking the transfer of PTI founder Imran Khan to a hospital. The application was filed by PTI lawyer Sardar Latif Khosa on February 25, pursuant to Order XXXV Rule 6 of the Supreme Court Rules 2025, after Imran underwent government-facilitated follow-up treatment for his eye ailment. PTI lawyers Khosa, along with Naeem Panjotha, appeared before SC Chief Justice Yahya Afridi on Friday, seeking the scheduling of PTI’s application. However, CJP Afridi told the lawyers that the “application was returned with objections a day earlier”. “Your petitions will remain pending until further orders,” he said to the lawyers. “There is no such application at the moment, on which proceedings can be held,” he added. Khosa informed CJP Afridi that the PTI counsels had requested an early hearing, adding that the court had ordered the former premier’s treatment. At this, CJP Afridi said that the court had not issued an order; rather, it was the government that ...

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) is set to hear former prime minister Imran Khan and his spouse Bushra Bibi’s petitions seeking the suspension of their sentences in the £190 million corruption case on March 11. A division bench comprising Chief Justice Sardar Muhammad Sarfraz Dogar and Justice Muhammad Azam Khan resumed the case proceedings on Thursday. During the hearing, the bench expressed displeasure as dozens of lawyers affiliated with PTI stood up and approached the rostrum simultaneously. “What is this? Are you trying to influence the court?” the IHC chief justice asked. Imran’s counsel, Barrister Salman Sardar, replied: “Not at all.” He argued that the matter had assumed greater urgency in view of the former premier’s sudden eye ailment. He further submitted that Bushra Bibi, despite being a woman, was serving a seven-year sentence and that her petition for suspension of sentence had been fixed after six months. “We request you to suspend the sentence. The last order was passed on November 9,...

The imprisonment and reported deteriorating health of former prime minister Imran Khan came under sustained scrutiny in the UK Parliament on Tuesday. Peers across party lines pressed the Labour government to intensify diplomatic engagement with Islamabad and consider linking aid and trade to human rights benchmarks. The issue was raised during oral questions led by Labour peer Baroness Alexander of Cleveden, who asked about discussions with the government of Pakistan regarding Imran’s incarceration. Responding on behalf of the Foreign Office, Minister of State Baroness Chapman of Darlington reiterated that while Pakistan’s judicial processes are a matter for its own authorities, the UK had consistently raised concerns over fundamental rights. “While Pakistan’s judicial processes are, of course, a matter for Pakistan, we are clear that the Pakistani authorities need to respect fundamental freedoms, including the right to a fair trial, due process, humane detention and access to appropriate medical treatment,” ...

ISLAMABAD: The PTI on Wednesday approached the Supreme Court seeking the medical treatment of jailed party founder Imran Khan at a hospital of his choice, along with access to his personal physicians. The application, filed by PTI lawyer Sardar Latif Khosa under Order XXXV Rule 6 of the Supreme Court Rules 2025, comes after Imran underwent a government-facilitated follow-up treatment for his eye ailment. The application, available with Dawn, was filed on behalf of Imran and named the Islamabad district election commissioner as the respondent, as it invoked the Toshakhana case in which the PTI founder was first arrested on Aug 5, 2023. The plea requested the SC that Imran be “immediately shifted to Shifa International Hospital, Islamabad for proper treatment of his eyes from [a] retina specialist”. It may be mentioned that Shifa International Hospital — where Imran’s family and personal doctors want him to be taken — is in Islamabad, whereas Al-Shifa Trust Eye Hospital, a doctor of which was involved in Tuesda...

Multiple PTI supporters across social media platforms were sharing a dim clip of party founder Imran Khan since February 24, 2026, claiming that it was from his latest visit to the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims) for a second eye injection. However, the video is old from February 20, 2023, when he appeared before the Lahore High Court (LHC) for interim protective bail in a case. The iVerify Pakistan team investigated this content and determined that it is false. Imran was brought to Pims for a follow-up eye treatment on Feb 24. According to a doctor, he was brought to the hospital for a second dose of anti-VEGF intravitreal injection. Imran’s eye ailment — right central retinal vein occlusion (CRVO) — came to light in late January 2026. His first medical procedure, which was carried out on January 24, was confirmed by the government five days later. Since then, the government and the opposition have also been engaged in a blame game, with the latter accusing the former of a lack of transparency ...

ISLAMABAD: Aleema Khanum, sister of PTI founder Imran Khan, on Wednesday launched a scathing criticism of the party leadership over decisions taken for the former premier’s medical treatment and of the Islamabad High Court (IHC) over the delay in fixing his cases for hearing. A day earlier, the PTI founder was taken to the hospital for follow-up treatment of his eye ailment, which came to light in late January. However, his party took exception to the ‘secrecy’ surrounding this procedure and the complete exclusion of family members from this process. The opposition has also repeatedly demanded that cases of the incarcerated PTI founder be fixed for an early hearing. Speaking to the media on Wednesday, Aleema said the health of the PTI founder was the family’s primary concern and insisted that no decision regarding his treatment should be made without their permission. Referring to Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi’s statement from February 17 regarding Imran’s health, she said the minister had publicly claimed t...

Imran taken to PIMS for treatment

Members of the opposition protested outside the Supreme Court (SC) on Monday to demand that the cases of incarcerated PTI founder Imran Khan be immediately scheduled for hearing and that he be allowed to meet his family. Senate Opposition Leader Allama Raja Nasir Abbas and PTI Secretary General Salman Akram Raja participated in the protest, which ended at around 2pm. Other leaders present included chief whip Amir Dogar, MNAs Ali Muhammad Khan and Shahid Khattak, MPA Shafiullah Jan, and Muhammad Hussain. The protest participants also demanded that “a complete medical examination be conducted through his personal doctors”, according to a post by the opposition alliance Tehreek-i-Tahafuz-i-Ayin-i-Pakistan (TTAP) on X. Imran, imprisoned since August 2023, is serving a 14-year sentence at Rawalpindi’s Adiala jail in a £190 million corruption case and was convicted in another case regarding state gifts recently. His health has been garnering attention in recent days, with his family and party raising concerns since...

PPP leader Sharjeel Inam Memon on Sunday said that PTI founder Imran Khan’s release was “in his own hands” as it depended on his party’s “attitude”. The Sindh senior minister made the remarks while speaking to reporters during a visit to a site of ongoing development work in Karachi. In response to a question regarding Imran’s release, the minister maintained that the incarcerated former premier’s release “was in his own hands and the attitude” of PTI. “I do not have any knowledge of his release; however, it is the blessed month of Ramazan, and I pray for his health, particularly his eye issue”, Memon said. Imran’s health has been garnering attention in recent days, with his family and party raising concerns since his eye ailment — right central retinal vein occlusion (CRVO) — came to light in late January. Memon assailed the party for “not focusing on the release of their leadership” and instead “creating fuss and staging protests outside of Adiala”. “It is better if they focus on seeking Imran’s release,” h...

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Tariq Fazal Chaudhry said on Friday that incarcerated PTI founder Imran Khan would be taken to a hospital twice in the coming days and that he had to be administered an injection on February 25. The ex-prime minister’s health has been garnering attention in recent days, with his family and party raising concerns since his eye ailment — right central retinal vein occlusion (CRVO) — came to light in late January. Meanwhile, the government and the opposition have also been engaged in a blame game, with the latter accusing the former of a lack of transparency on the matter, not ensuring appropriate treatment for Imran and not allowing his personal physicians to access him. The government denies these allegations. The matter was raised again during ARY News programme ‘Sawal Yeh Hai’, where Chaudhry was asked what was the obstacle in the way of Imran’s personal physicians gaining access to him. In his response, Chaudhry said: “Our top priority is to provide him the best treatment faci...

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court (SC) stayed on Friday a trial by the court of an additional district judge in Lahore in a RS10 billion defamation suit filed by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif against PTI founder Imran Khan. In his suit filed in 2017, PM Shehbaz said Imran levelled baseless allegations against him. He sought a decree for the recovery of Rs10bn as compensation from the defendant for the publication of defamatory content. The defamation suit said Imran wrongly accused PM Shehbaz of offering Rs10bn to the latter through a common friend in exchange for withdrawing the Panama Papers case. The PTI founder had contended in his reply that he had disclosed the alleged incident for the consumption of the public at large, and an act in the interest of the public good did not constitute any defamation. He maintained that he did not specifically attribute any statement to the PM Shehbaz while narrating the incident. A three-judge SC bench, headed by Justice Ayesha A Malik and including Justices Muhammad Hashim ...

The PTI on Thursday once again voiced concerns regarding party founder Imran Khan’s health, taking exception to the government’s alleged “silence and lack of clarity” over the matter. The incarcerated ex-prime minister’s family and party have been raising concerns about his health since his eye ailment — right central retinal vein occlusion (CRVO) — came to light in late January. In a statement on X, the PTI expressed “profound concern over the growing anxiety spreading among the nation regarding” Imran’s health. “Any ambiguity surrounding the health of a leader who commands the confidence of millions is unacceptable. The government’s silence and lack of clarity have only intensified public unease rather than alleviating it,” the PTI contended. “This is not merely a political matter; it is a test of national trust, human rights, and the government’s responsibility,” the party asserted. Stating that “any uncertainty regarding his health and safety is intolerable”, it stressed that if the government had nothing...

Indian cricket greats Sunil Gavaskar and Kapil Dev joined a dozen other former international captains on Tuesday in demanding better prison treatment for “one of the finest all-rounders” of the game, former prime minister Imran Khan. Cricketer-turned-politician Imran, 73, has been in jail since August 2023, convicted in a string of cases that he says were politically driven following his ouster in a 2022 parliamentary vote. Imran’s lawyer, Salman Safdar, told the Supreme Court last week that the former premier had lost a significant amount of vision in his right eye while in custody. On Monday, a medical board said the swelling had reduced after treatment, and his vision had improved. On Tuesday, former India captains Gavaskar and Kapil signed a petition expressing “deep concern” about Imran’s treatment and prison conditions. Former Australia captain Greg Chappell, his brother Ian Chappell and compatriots Allan Border, Steve Waugh, Belinda Clark and Kim Hughes have signed the petition. England’s Mike Atherton...

ISLAMABAD: As the TTAP’s sit-in continued for the fifth day after the blocked routes to Parliament House were cleared, the alliance expressed hope on Tuesday that at least one family member of the incarcerated PTI founder Imran Khan or a party leader would be allowed to meet him today amid concerns about his health. The hope, however, did not materialise. In the afternoon, an X account of the PTI said that a vehicle carrying Imran’s sisters was stopped at the Chakri Interchange while on its way to the Adiala jail. Later, Imran’s sister Aleema Khanum also claimed in a post that “we were stopped at the Chakri police post by the police. When we informed them that we intended to leave and proceed to Islamabad, they unlawfully blocked us and detained us there for the next four hours”. “We have now been released and are on our way to Islamabad,” she added. PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan and Secretary General Salman Akram Raja also sought to meet Imran today but were told by the Adiala jail administration tha...

ISLAMABAD: Opposition alliance Tehreek Tahafuz Ayeen-i-Pakistan (TTAP), as well as incarcerated PTI founder Imran Khan’s sisters, rejected on Tuesday an account detailed by Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi regarding the former prime minister’s medical examination. The TTAP particularly accused Naqvi of attempting to “distort” facts to “cover up the deteriorating health and treatment meted out to” the former prime minister. The allegations came in response to a press conference by Naqvi earlier in the day, who asserted that the government did not want to “politicise” the matter of PTI founder Imran Khan’s health and blamed the opposition for doing the same. The opposition, PTI and Imran’s family have voiced concerns over the former prime minister’s health after his eye ailment came to light late in January. Addressing the media in Lahore, Naqvi referred to the recent medical report prepared by a team of doctors who examined the jailed ex-premier on Sunday. “The medical report also came forward yesterday and ever...

ISLAMABAD: The opposition decided on Monday to extend its sit-in at the Parliament House till Tuesday — one of the two court-mandated days for meeting incarcerated PTI founder Imran Khan — to “see the government’s response” to their call for allowing access to the former premier. Imran’s family and associates had been barred from visiting him for several weeks until the Supreme Court’s intervention last week led to PTI lawyer Salman Safdar being allowed to visit him. Following his visit, he submitted a report to the SC, which said only 15 per cent vision was left in the PTI founder’s right eye. This prompted a strong response from opposition alliance Tehreek Tahafuz-i-Ayeen Pakistan (TTAP), which began a sit-in at the Parliament House for the fulfilment of its demands for Imran’s treatment and examination. The protest, which began on Friday, entered its fourth day today, with TTAP Spokesperson Akhunzada Hussain Ahmed Yousafzai saying that it would continue till Tuesday. He shared this information with Dawn ho...

ISLAMABAD: The federal government on Monday assured the Supreme Court (SC) that PTI founder Imran Khan had been allowed to speak to his children, adding that the medical examination of the ex-premier was also carried out by an expert team. Last week, a two-judge SC bench headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Yahya Afridi had instructed the government to form a medical team to examine incarcerated PTI chief Imran Khan after a report submitted by his lawyer, Salman Safdar, revealed that the former prime minister had lost 85 per cent of the vision in his right eye. The court had also asked authorities to arrange calls between Imran and his children. On Monday, the government, through Deputy Attorney General Raja Muhammad Shafqat Abbasi, filed a fresh application in the SC. The government said it was placing on record the report prepared by the Adiala jail superintendent to highlight the SC’s earlier directions, issued on Aug 24, 2023, in exercise of powers under Article 184 of the Constitution (a provision n...