Imran Khan’s medical file has become a live political and legal issue in Pakistan after his physician said he could not verify a reported improvement in the imprisoned former prime minister’s eyesight—because authorities have not granted him access to examine Khan directly.
Dr. Aasim Yusuf said he received information about Khan’s condition and treatment from prison doctors by phone, following a Supreme Court order that brought a panel of eye specialists to Adiala prison in Rawalpindi. Yusuf made the remarks in a video message posted on X on Monday, a day after he said prison doctors briefed him about what they described as an “improvement” after the panel examined Khan.
Yusuf said that if he had been able to see Khan himself, he would have been “extremely happy” to verify the report. He said, however, that because he had not seen Khan in person and had not been able to participate in his care or speak with him directly, he was unable “to either confirm or deny the veracity of what we have been told,” adding he was still calling for any further treatment to be carried out at a hospital in Islamabad.
A separate account of the assessment came from information posted publicly by Tariq Fazal Chaudhry, a cabinet minister. Chaudhry wrote on X on Monday that a detailed medical examination of Khan was conducted inside Adiala prison and that doctors found Khan’s eyesight had improved, with “no major complications have emerged.”
The Supreme Court action followed earlier concerns that Khan’s eyesight had deteriorated. The government had said Khan underwent a brief eye procedure, prompting the court to direct Khan’s lawyer, Salman Safdar, to meet him in prison. After meeting Khan, Safdar told the court that Khan had lost about 85% of vision in his right eye, a claim that alarmed supporters in Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, or PTI.
PTI supporters staged protests in Islamabad and other cities demanding Khan’s transfer to a hospital, and some PTI lawmakers and allies held a sit-in outside parliament starting last week. The dispute over access to medical evaluation has sharpened attention on whether outside clinicians can independently assess Khan’s condition while he remains behind bars.
Khan, 73, has been held at prison since 2023 following a conviction in a graft case. He was removed from office in April 2022 after a parliamentary no-confidence vote. Khan has continued to allege his ouster resulted from what he describes as a U.S.-backed conspiracy involving political rivals and the military—claims denied by Washington, Pakistan’s military, and political opponents including Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.