Former Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan has 15% vision left in his right eye after prison authorities failed to take action, his lawyers have told Pakistan’s supreme court.
His lawyer Salman Safdar, who was permitted to visit his client in prison this week, said the former cricketer began experiencing blurred and hazy vision three to four months ago.
But, despite telling the jail superintendent, no action was taken beyond giving him eye drops, Safdar said.
Pakistan’s authorities previously confirmed Khan had a 20-minute medical procedure on 24 January at Islamabad’s PIMS hospital, when minister Ata Tarar said Khan was “fine and healthy”.
Safdar, who was Khan’s first outside visitor in seven weeks, said his client’s condition was diagnosed as a blood clot in his right eye, causing severe damage which has left him with limited vision.
He submitted a report on Tuesday detailing Khan’s condition to Chief Justice of Pakistan Yahya Afridi and Justice Shahid Bilal Hasan.
Khan had been left “visibly perturbed and deeply distressed by the loss of vision and the absence of timely and specialised medical intervention”, Safdar said, who asked for his client be examined by a team of expert ophthalmologists, get access to his family and have better prison conditions.
The court ruled Khan be granted access to his personal physicians in Adiala Jail, where he is currently incarcerated, and be allowed to telephone his sons Kasim and Sulaiman.
In Safdar’s report, it said Khan’s prison conditions included a room with basic furniture, 100 books, two dumbbells, a prayer mat and a TV that does not work.
In summer, the report said the room gets hot and humid with insects and mosquitos frequently coming inside and Khan had food poisoning two to three times during the hot months.
Khan receives a mushaqati – a helper who is also a prisoner – who washes and cleans the cell. Khan can also walk around a 12×30 foot lawn during daytime hours.
One of Pakistan’s interior ministers previously described Khan as “the most privileged prisoner in Pakistan” with access to gym equipment and a cook.
Khan, who previously captained the Pakistan national cricket team, served as Pakistan’s prime minister from 2018 to 2022. His government launched major infrastructure and social programs including free healthcare and promoting renewable energy.
He was imprisoned in August 2023 and has faced charges in over 100 cases, ranging from leaking state secrets to selling state gifts – all of which he decried as politically motivated.
His jailing triggered large-scale protests by supporters – which were met with a crackdown by authorities. Thousands of protesters have been arrested and many injured in clashes with the police.
By BBC News
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