IHC reserves verdict on plea seeking Imran’s transfer to Shifa International Hospital

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Thursday reserved its verdict on a petition seeking the transfer of PTI founder Imran Khan to Shifa International Hospital for medical treatment, following earlier claims that he was left with 15 per cent vision in the right eye.

A division bench, comprising Justice Arbab Muhammad Tahir and Justice Khadim Hussain Sumroo, presided over the hearing.

The proceedings saw heated exchanges between the defence, the state’s legal team, and family members of the incarcerated former prime minister.

On March 2, IHC was moved with a plea seeking the immediate transfer of the incarcerated PTI founder to Shifa International Hospital for specialised eye treatment.

The plea — filed under Section 561-A Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) by senior counsel Sardar Latif Khosa — alleged that jail authorities have been conducting medical examinations in complete secrecy and demanded that Imran’s personal physicians be granted access to him.

The petition further claimed that Imran — now 73 years old and incarcerated since August 2023 — has been left with only approximately 15pc vision in his right eye.

The application cites a report submitted to the Supreme Court 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 resulting in complete loss of vision in one eye.

A similar plea was submitted in the SC on February 25, following Imran undergoing a government-facilitated follow-up treatment for his eye ailment.

It should be noted that Imran’s family and personal doctors have increasingly pushed for the former premier’s admission to Shifa International Hospital in Islamabad.

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.

Concerns mounted after partial vision loss in the right eye was reported via a lawyer who met Imran upon the SC’s intervention. Doctors later confirmed that, with glasses, the PTI founder had 6/9 partial vision in the right eye.

On March 3, the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims), where Imran was being treated, said that the PTI founder was examined at Adiala jail for the follow-up treatment of his eye ailment, which showed that his vision had “improved remarkably”.