ISLAMABAD – A two-page report was filed a day before the top court is set to commence the hearing of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan’s petitions for his treatment at Shifa International Islamabad.
The health of incarcerated ex-PM has become the centre of a fresh political controversy after the medical report submitted to the Supreme Court recorded anxiety and sleep medication along with six medicines being administered daily, while Adiala Jail authorities maintained that his eyesight had improved to “almost normal”.
According to August 10 medical report, Khan was examined by a specialist board comprising doctors from ophthalmology, cardiology and medicine. His blood pressure was recorded at 140/80, pulse at 54 beats per minute and anxiety at “+++”. The report also recommended daily walks, relaxation activities and more frequent meetings with family members. Though, the recommendation that he should be provided with magazine/Newspaper/TV and reading books contradicted to the jail authorities’ and government’s claims of him being provided with all of the above.
Moreover, his ECG was reported as normal, while the examination found no significant abnormality in his heart valves or chambers.
The report has triggered a wave of reaction from PTI leaders and Khan’s supporters on X, with several questioning the circumstances surrounding his medical care and the continued restrictions on access to him. The report submitted by the Adiala jail superintendent of police (SP) to the Supreme Court (SC) on Monday included a summary of Imran Khan’s medical consultations and check-ups, highlighting concerns over the former premier’s blood pressure (BP) and recommending increased interaction with family members to help manage his anxiety.
“The consultant noted that the patient Imran, was seen for complaints of uncontrolled, fluctuating BP and associated palpitations, headache and restlessness. He also complains of previous causes of his symptoms due to infrequent meetings with his wife, family and social colleagues as a cause of stress. Further, he complains of stress due to non-availability of newspapers and TV etc,” it said.
The ex-premier, 73, who has been in jail since August 2023, has been taken to the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims) in Islamabad for eye treatment multiple times after his eye ailment – right central retinal vein occlusion (CRVO) – came to light in late January.
In the fresh report, the jail authorities explained that both Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi were being provided with adequate healthcare facilities. “Their health and well-being are and have been of paramount importance to the jail administration.”
It said that medical officers visited Khan thrice a day to check his meals and take his vitals, including blood pressure, heart rate, and oxygen saturation.
The report added that Khan’s medical records had been maintained since his admission to the jail and several consultants from different specialties had visited the couple for medical examination.
A record of all visiting consultants’ examinations and prescriptions is available with the jail administration and attached to the report.
It said that when Khan was diagnosed with an eye disease, the jail authorities sought immediate medical intervention. As per the report, he was treated at Pims by the hospital’s head of Ophthalmology Dr Muhammad Arif Khan, and Dr Nadeem Qureshi, a Vitreo-Retinal surgeon at Al-Shifa Trust Eye Hospital in Rawalpindi.
Consequently, significant improvement of his eye has been noticed, and his vision returned to almost normal, the report claimed, adding that the medical interventions and improvement of his vision suggested that the jail administration left no stone unturned in providing the convicted prisoner with the best healthcare facilities from the top public sector teaching hospital of the Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT).
The report also stated that meetings between Khan and Bushra Bibi were held regularly every Tuesday and 84 such meetings had been held.
The jail report also said that Khan’s counsel Salman Akram Raja, through “media talks, interviews and tweets,” had maligned the constitutional office holders/representative of the state.
In its report, the jail authorities also attached IHC orders, several news clippings based on statements issued by PTI leaders, social media posts claiming the couple was facing serious health risks in custody, a summary of their check-ups by consultants on different dates and relevant medical reports.
Headed by Justice Shahid Wahid, a three-judge apex court bench, also consisting of Justice Naeem Akhtar Afghan and Justice Ishtiaq Ibrahim, will take up Khan’s petition on Aug.18.
The Supreme Court had ordered an early hearing of the former premier’s petition. Through a criminal appeal, the petitioner had requested to be shifted to Islamabad’s Shifa International Hospital and access to his family and personal physicians.
Former president Dr Arif Alvi expressed concern over the findings, saying he had reviewed Khan’s medical reports and discussed them with several medical experts. He described the reports as “worrying”, particularly the references to anxiety, irregular heartbeat and blood pressure.
Alvi said he had known Khan for more than 35 years and that mental stress had never previously been a weakness for the former prime minister. He attributed the reported increase in anxiety to what he described as nearly three years of imprisonment and complete isolation, including separation from his family, party colleagues and the outside world.
Former PTI leader Sayed Zulfikar Abbas Bukhari also reacted on X, drawing attention to the medical board’s recording of “Anxiety +++” and Khan’s reported complaints of palpitations and head heaviness.
PTI-USA similarly criticised Khan’s incarceration and medical treatment, saying reports about his health raised serious concerns about his condition in custody.
Atif Khan, meanwhile, questioned the reliability of information circulating about the former prime minister’s health. “We have absolutely no reliable information on Imran Khan’s health,” he wrote on X, adding that Khan had not previously suffered from blood-pressure problems.
