Pakistan says imprisoned ex-Prime Minister Imran Khan is in good health after an eye procedure

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistan’s imprisoned former Prime Minister Imran Khan is in good health after undergoing a medical procedure for an eye ailment at a government hospital, an official said Thursday.

Khan remains widely popular in Pakistan, and the government’s acknowledgment of his hospital visit has raised concerns about his treatment and medical condition. Leaders and supporters of his party staged a sit-in outside the prison where he’s being held, demanding that his doctors and family members be allowed to meet him.

The former premier was examined by a team of doctors at Rawalpindi’s Adiala prison, where he’s serving multiple prison sentences, before being taken to a government hospital on Saturday, where he underwent a 20-minute medical procedure with his consent.

“He is in good health,” Information Minister Attaullah Tarar told the private Geo News television channel.

The comments came after Khan’s opposition Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party spokesman Zulfikar Bukhari said earlier this week that the ex-prime minister was suffering from an eye condition and required “immediate medical attention.”

Bukhari had called for Khan’s personal physician to be granted access, warning on X that any further delay could result in “irreversible harm.”

Khan’s son, Kasim, wrote on X that his father has been diagnosed with central retinal vein occlusion, a dangerous blockage that can cause permanent vision loss.

“Yet authorities continue to block his treatment and deny him access to the doctors he trusts,” he said.

He said even he hasn’t been allowed to speak to him.

Tarar’s remarks followed days of speculation on social media that Khan had been taken to a hospital under heavy security over the weekend and returned to jail the same night. Khan hasn’t been seen in public since his arrest in 2023 in a corruption case.

Bukhari said in a statement on Thursday that Tarar’s remarks were “very worrying” and described the handling of the health issue as “opaque and alarming.”

Neither Khan’s family nor his legal team were informed before or after he was taken from prison for medical treatment, Bukhari said, adding that authorities had provided no verifiable details about his condition, the treatment administered or the doctors involved.

Bukhari said the government’s attempt to portray the eye condition as a routine medical matter raised “more questions than answers.” He expressed serious concerns about Khan’s health and demanded immediate access for his family and personal physicians, as well as full disclosure of the medical procedure and Khan’s current condition.

He urged human rights organizations to monitor the situation, saying the treatment of a former elected prime minister in custody reflected broader concerns about the rule of law, prisoners’ rights and due process in Pakistan.

Suhail Afridi, a chief minister in the northwest Pakistan and a prominent member of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party, said that he was trying to meet with Khan in prison.

“The very first question is: how did his health deteriorate to the point that he had to be transferred to the hospital?” Afridi said. “If it reached this stage, it means he was already unwell — so why was the illness concealed? Why was he not allowed to meet his family or his personal doctor?”

Afridi, along with supporters, has camped outside the prison, saying they will only end the sit-in when Khan’s family members and doctors meet with him.

After Khan’s arrest in 2023, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party, or PTI, initially launched a campaign demanding his release, but the effort later subsided. Authorities recently restricted meetings between Khan and his family after relatives publicly conveyed political messages urging supporters to stage rallies against the government of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.

Khan has also used posts on X to criticize the military and Sharif for his removal from office in a no-confidence vote in April 2022. He has alleged that his ouster was the result of a U.S.-backed conspiracy carried out with the support of Sharif and Pakistan’s powerful military — accusations denied by Washington, the military and his political opponents.