Jailed former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan has been left with about 15% vision in his right eye after authorities allegedly failed to address his complaints for months, a court-appointed lawyer told the Supreme Court.
Barrister Salman Safdar, appointed by the court as amicus curiae, met Khan for two hours on Feb. 10 and inspected his detention facility before submitting a seven-page report on Wednesday detailing the 73-year-old’s health and prison conditions.
According to the report, Khan experienced rapid and significant vision loss over the past three months while in custody. Despite repeated complaints of blurred and hazy vision, “no action was taken by the jail authorities to address these complaints,” Safdar wrote.
Khan later suffered what was described as a sudden and complete loss of vision in his right eye. A medical report dated Feb. 6 diagnosed him with right central retinal vein occlusion, a condition involving a blood clot that can cause severe retinal damage.
An ophthalmologist from a government hospital in Islamabad confirmed the diagnosis, Safdar said, adding that Khan appeared “visibly perturbed and deeply distressed” during their meeting.
The report warned that further delay could pose a serious risk to Khan’s well-being and recommended an immediate independent examination by specialist ophthalmologists, including his personal physicians.
Following submission of the report, the Supreme Court ordered the formation of a medical team to examine Khan and directed authorities to allow him phone contact with his sons in Britain. The court said both steps must be completed before Feb. 16.
“The issue of Imran’s health is most important,” Chief Justice Yahya Afridi said, adding that intervention was necessary.
Khan’s party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), expressed “profound concern” over his deteriorating eyesight and said it reserved the right to pursue legal action against officials over his treatment.
Khan, a former cricket captain who led Pakistan to a World Cup victory, served as prime minister from 2018 until his removal in a parliamentary no-confidence vote in 2022. He has been held in Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi since August 2023 on a range of charges that he and his party say are politically motivated, an allegation authorities deny.
In June 2024, a United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention said his detention had no legal basis and appeared intended to disqualify him from political office.
Safdar’s report also said Khan had been held in solitary confinement for about two years and four months and had limited access to legal counsel and family members, restrictions that have drawn criticism from supporters and rights advocates.
