ISLAMABAD: As a defiant sit-in by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and its allies entered a third day, a five-member government medical team examined PTI founder and former Prime Minister Imran Khan at Adiala Jail on Sunday.
The examination came a day after federal ministers – Tariq Fazal Chaudhry and Attaullah Tarar – indicated that Imran would be transferred to hospital soon.
Instead, authorities dispatched a five-member government medical team to Adiala Jail on Sunday, equipped with portable diagnostic equipment from Holy Family Hospital, Rawalpindi, to carry out the assessment on site. Prison sources said the team carried out a detailed eye examination, drew blood samples, and measured Khan’s blood pressure.
READ MORE: Govt decides to shift Imran Khan to hospital
The assessment began following a two-and-a-half-hour delay and lasted approximately one hour. Ophthalmic testing equipment was set up at the prison, but a report is yet to be issued.
“The medical team examined Imran’s eyes, conducted various tests, and will now decide whether there is a need to move him to hospital or if he can remain in jail and continue treatment here,” said the jail superintendent.
However, PTI in a statement posted on X, described the government’s handling of the matter as “unacceptable” and called claims that party leaders had been invited to attend a “crude attempt to divert attention from the core issue.”
“This matter was never about the presence or absence of the party leadership,” the statement read. “In such sensitive and delicate medical matters, the constitutional, moral and legal right to make decisions belongs to Imran Khan’s family.” It added that the family could not make an informed decision without his personal doctors present.
Earlier, Khan’s personal physicians Dr Aasim Yusuf and Dr Faisal Sultan issued a joint video statement reiterating their call for a comprehensive medical assessment at Shifa International Hospital, Islamabad.
They emphasised that the former prime minister urgently required care from a retina specialist for central retinal vein occlusion and severe vision loss, alongside a broader multidisciplinary evaluation of underlying conditions.
The dispute over his medical care has become the flashpoint for protests by the opposition alliance Tehreek-e-Tahaffuz-e-Aayin-e-Pakistan (TTAP), joined by PTI lawmakers, who have staged a sit-in at Parliament House and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa House in Islamabad.
Demonstrators have vowed to continue until Khan is transferred to Shifa International Hospital with his ‘personal’ physicians and his sister, Dr Uzma Khan, present.
PTI supporters have also blocked sections of the Islamabad-Peshawar motorway at the Swabi interchange, disrupting traffic between the two cities. Parts of the Grand Trunk Road have been closed.
Speaking to reporters at Parliament House, PTI leader Asad Qaiser said the party would not compromise on Khan’s health. “We will continue the sit-in to pressure the government so that Imran can be taken to hospital,” he said.
A senior PTI official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said confusion had deepened rather than eased. She claimed opposition representatives were informed late on Saturday that Khan would be shifted to Shifa International Hospital, but disagreements emerged over the composition of the proposed medical board.
However, TTAP alleged protesters in Parliament House were denied food, water, and medicines, including for Senate opposition leader Allama Raja Nasir Abbas, calling it “inhumane.”
Meanwhile, HRCP urged immediate independent medical checks for Khan, while Dr Zafar Mirza of Awam Pakistan Party of Shahid Khaqan Ababsi, demanded access to his personal physician and family and fair legal proceedings.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2026
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