Pakistan's former Prime Minister
Imran Khan's family has claimed that he is enduring "unimaginable mistreatment" in prison and demanded better health facilities for him.
This comes after Khan recently told a visiting lawyer that he lost about 85 per cent of vision in the right eye due to alleged lack of health services.
'Under the vengeful instructions of Asim Munir'Khan's sister Noreen Niazi claimed that the former prime minister is under the directives of 'Asim Law' and facing irreversible damage to his right eye as a direct consequence. She claimed that Khan has been diagnosed with retinal vein occlusion.
"Imran Khan, a global celebrity, a philanthropist, and former prime minister of Pakistan, has endured unimaginable mistreatment in prison under the directives of 'Asim Law,' now facing irreversible damage to his right eye as a direct consequence," Khan's sister Noreen Niazi said in a post on X, referring to Chief of Defence Forces Field Marshal Asim Munir.
"The jail’s poor conditions have severely impacted his health, leading to devastating effects on his eye, now diagnosed as retinal vein occlusion. This isn’t mere negligence. It’s deliberate cruelty, executed through an evil and conniving master plan of Gen Asim Munir. Under the vengeful instructions of Asim Munir, Imran Khan’s due treatment is being handled inside the poor conditions of the jail," she added.
Noreen added that given the nature of Khan's eye condition, where he’s already lost 85 per cent of his vision, proper treatment "simply isn’t possible in a prison setting".
"Our sole constitutional and legal demand is that Imran Khan be immediately transferred to Shifa International Hospital in Islamabad for treatment under the supervision of his personal physicians," she demanded.
"You (Munir) declare yourself the chief of a Muslim armed forces, quoting Quranic verses in your speech, but you refuse to abide by them. The nation is wide awake, and the whole world is watching this brutality and inhumane and despicable treatment of Imran Khan. This ushers in concerns about Imran Khan’s legal rights; it rather underscores the gravity of lawlessness now prevalent in Pakistan under illegitimate and un-Islamic rule. It represents a profound trial of your beliefs, your command, and your impending judgment," Noreen said.
Meanwhile, Khan's close aide Zulfi Bokhari said the former premier told his wife Bushra Bibi on Tuesday that he remains deeply concerned about his eye.
"His first and only priority is an immediate emergency meeting with his personal physicians -Dr Faisal Sultan and Dr Asim. Let’s put politics aside for a moment and only focus on this one, extremely reasonable demand," Bokhari said.
PTI cuts off Khyber Pakhtunkhwa from the rest of PakistanMeanwhile, Pakistan's opposition alliance continued its sit-in in Islamabad, demanding better health facilities for jailed former premier Imran Khan.
The sit-in is led by the Tehreek-e-Tahaffuz-e-Ain Pakistan (TTAP), an alliance set up last year to protest the constitution of the country.
Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) is its main force, while the alliance is led by Mahmood Khan Achakzai, a Pashtun tribal leader from Balochistan who is also the leader of the opposition in the national assembly.
The group launched the protest on Friday at two places in Islamabad, including near the parliament building and the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa House, the official building of the provincial government in the capital.
The protestors have vowed to continue the sit-ins until Khan is shifted for specialist care to a private hospital.
The PTI has cut off Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province from the rest of the country by road blockades, demanding that Khan be immediately shifted to the hospital and allowing his doctors to see him.
Former cricket captains appeal Pakistan govt over Khan careMore than a dozen former international cricket captains also issued a statement appealing the Islamabad government to give him "adequate" medical treatment.
Former cricket skippers "respectfully" urges Pakistan "to ensure that Imran Khan receives immediate, adequate and ongoing medical attention from qualified specialists of his choosing".
The campaign is led by former Australian captain and contemporary of Khan, Greg Chappell.
"Khan deserves fair and transparent access to legal processes without undue delay or hindrance," the statement said.
Other signatories are Michael Atherton, Michael Brearley, Nasser Hussain and David Gower (England), Allan Border, Ian Chappell, Belinda Clark, Steve Waugh and Kim Hughes (Australia), Clive Lloyd (West Indies) and John Wright (New Zealand).
Government rejects chargesInterior minister Mohsin Naqvi told the media that the government has no intention to “politicise” the matter of Khan’s health, while blaming the opposition for doing the same.
“The medical report also came forward yesterday, and everything is clear as per it. Neither we nor the government want to politicise this,” he said.
He also criticised the furore by the PTI over Khan's health.
“Putting up such a show is extremely inappropriate, especially misleading people,” the minister said.
The government refuted the charges made by Khan's family and said that a two-member team of doctor, who, after examining the former premier concluded that his vision in the right eye without glasses was recorded at 6/24 partial, while the left eye measured 6/9.
However, with corrective glasses, the right eye improved to 6/9 partial and the left eye to 6/6.
They also reported a reduction in the swelling in the right eye, with its thickness decreasing from 550 to 350 microns, and the report termed it a sign of improvement. The doctors also recommended eye drops for both eyes, while advising the PTI founder to undergo two other eye tests.
Pakistan's Supreme Court has already requested a report on Khan's living conditions in the Adiala jail near Rawalpindi, in connection with a case that has been pending since 2023.
Authorities had previously confirmed that Khan underwent a 20-minute medical procedure in January at Islamabad's government hospital but gave no other details.