Pakistan minister accuses Imran Khan’s party of using his health for political gain

Pakistan’s Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi accused the opposition party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) on Tuesday of turning the health crisis of its jailed founder, former prime minister Imran Khan, into a political spectacle.

The controversy escalated after reports surfaced that Khan, who has been imprisoned for corruption-related cases, has lost nearly all vision in his right eye, raising concerns over the adequacy and transparency of his medical care.

The Supreme Court ordered a formal medical examination, leading a team of five doctors to visit Rawalpindi’s Adiala Jail last weekend. They conducted an eye examination, collected blood samples, and monitored Khan’s vital signs. However, PTI rejected the assessment, citing the absence of family doctors and Khan’s personal physicians.

Addressing reporters, Naqvi insisted that the government acted in good faith. “The medical report also came forward yesterday, and everything is clear as per it. Neither I, nor the government wants to politicize this,” he said, adding that some “requests” had been accommodated but could not yet be publicized.

“Staging such a display is highly improper, especially misleading the public,” he said. “Nevertheless, we appointed the most qualified government and private doctors, since the examination had been delayed for three days.”

Naqvi said that key opposition figures, including Gohar, Allama Raja Nasir Abbas, and Mehmood Khan Achakzai, along with their selected medical advisors, were later invited to Islamabad’s Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS). There, the attending doctors briefed them on Khan’s condition, and the delegation reportedly expressed satisfaction with the arrangements.

The minister also said that Khan’s sister, Aleema Khanum, had told PTI the “issue would die down” if the opposition accepted the government’s measures.

Recalling earlier mediation by National Assembly Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq, Naqvi said: “We made one thing very clear that in the matter of treatment, we will provide whatever facility is available to any incarcerated person as per the Constitution and the law.”

He added that the government had proposed a “non-political” eye specialist to examine Khan, but the opposition insisted on a family member accompanying the doctor. “Even after both conditions were met, they insisted, ‘No, not like this; he must be admitted to a hospital for a week, and we will not accept any other arrangement,’” Naqvi said. He stressed that authorities would “certainly” hospitalize Khan for “up to two weeks” if the doctors deemed it necessary.

PTI says not 'politicizing Khan's health'

In response to Naqvi’s press conference, Barrister Gohar Khan, along with Salman Akram Raja and other family members, visited Adiala Jail.

He reiterated that the party is not politicizing the founder’s health. “Our first demand was to allow access to family or personal doctors, and our second demand was to transfer the founder to a hospital,” he said.

Khan underwent a medical procedure at PIMS on January 24, which reportedly came to light only days later, without full knowledge of his family. Advocate Salman Safdar, appointed by the Supreme Court as amicus curiae, visited Khan on February 10 and submitted a seven-page report on his prison conditions.

Safdar quoted Khan as saying that “despite the treatment administered (including an injection), he has been left with only 15pc vision in his right eye.”

Khan’s family and PTI have repeatedly demanded his transfer to Islamabad’s Shifa International Hospital for a thorough examination. The party has also staged a four-day sit-in at Parliament House to press for the move, heightening tensions between the government and the opposition.