A matter of concern

EDITORIAL: The handling of incarcerated PTI founder and former prime minister Imran Khan’s reported eye ailment continues to raise questions about the state’s commitment to fundamental rights and the rule of law. Whatever one’s political persuasion, a prisoner’s access to medical care, legal counsel and family contact is neither discretionary nor conditional; it is a constitutional guarantee — and a measure of the state’s moral authority.

For extended periods, he has been denied routine meetings with family members and lawyers, a practice difficult to reconcile with constitutional protections and established international standards governing the treatment of detainees. The government, though, justifies these restrictions on the grounds that his politically charged remarks are publicised by relatives and amplified on social media. Yet such reasoning cannot override basic rights. If there are concerns about misuse of access, they should be addressed through lawful and proportionate means, not by curtailing entitlements altogether.

Matters took a more disturbing turn when it emerged that Khan had been transported quietly, under cover of darkness, to the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) for treatment of a serious eye condition and then returned to Adiala Jail. The secrecy surrounding the episode invited inevitable suspicion. The gravity of the issue was underscored by the intervention of the Supreme Court of Pakistan, which appointed a counsel to independently assess his condition. Subsequent reports that he may have lost significant vision in one eye after months of unaddressed complaints, point not to a minor administrative lapse but to a breach of the state’s custodial duty of care.

Equally, questionable has been the official handling of information. Initial denials that any medical episode had occurred, followed by reluctant acknowledgment, under mounting public scrutiny, created the impression of prevarication. In matters concerning the health of a high-profile detainee, transparency is not optional; it is indispensable. But confusion has persisted over the appropriate course of treatment. Federal ministers Dr Tariq Fazal and Ataullah Tarar signalled that he would soon be shifted to a hospital. Instead, a government-appointed medical team examined him inside Adiala Jail last Sunday and collected blood samples — a move rejected by his family, party colleagues, and the opposition alliance TTAP, who termed the approach “malicious” in the absence of his personal physicians and demanded his transfer to specialist care at the Al-Shifa Eye Hospital. In such circumstances, independent and credible medical oversight is not only a reasonable demand but a prudent safeguard.

Yet at a subsequent press conference, the interior minister, citing the government team’s report, declared that “everything was clear” and that there was no need for a hospital transfer. The reluctance to allow examination by a personal physician or to move Khan to a recognised specialist facility only compounds public doubt and deepens mistrust.

Attempts at obfuscation, whether politically calculated or bureaucratically reflexive, invariably intensify polarisation. In Pakistan’s deeply divided political climate, perceptions matter as much as facts. Among Imran Khan’s supporters, the belief that he is being subjected to punitive treatment because he remains the country’s most prominent opposition figure is already widespread. Allowing that perception to harden can result in inflaming tensions and further fracturing a fragile political landscape. The government, therefore, would be well advised to ensure that custodial standards are not merely adequate but irreproachable.

Beyond the immediate humanitarian concerns, there are broader implications. Pakistan’s international standing, including trade benefits under the EU’s GSP+ framework, is linked to compliance with human rights conventions. Willful mistreatment of Khan and other political detainees can carry diplomatic and economic consequences.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2026