LAHORE: Detained leaders of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) have formally approached Yahya Afridi, raising concerns about alleged restrictions on medical and legal access to the party’s founder, Imran Khan.
In a letter submitted through legal representatives, senior PTI figures — Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Yasmin Rashid, Ijaz Chaudhry, Omar Sarfraz Cheema, and Mahmood-ur-Rashid — alleged that Khan has repeatedly been prevented from meeting his personal physician, relatives, and lawyers during ongoing medical treatment.
The appeal follows Khan’s second eye injection at Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) in Islamabad. The former premier, imprisoned since August 2023, is suffering from central retinal vein occlusion (CRVO), a serious eye disorder. A medical report previously submitted to the Supreme Court stated that he has lost approximately 85 percent of vision in his right eye.
In their correspondence, the PTI leaders drew parallels with the medical arrangements provided to Nawaz Sharif in 2019. They highlighted that during Sharif’s hospitalization at Services Hospital due to critically low platelet levels, his personal doctor was included in medical board consultations, and his family and legal team were granted unrestricted access. Sharif was later permitted to travel to England for specialized heart treatment.
The letter further alleged that authorities initially dismissed reports regarding Khan’s illness and only confirmed his CRVO diagnosis after it became public knowledge. The PTI leaders claimed that access to his medical consultants was restricted and that both his family and legal counsel were barred from meeting him. They also stated that relatives were informed about his second eye injection only after the procedure had taken place, reportedly around 2am.
Accusing the government of creating deliberate obstacles for political reasons, the signatories urged the chief justice to take immediate notice and ensure that Khan’s constitutional rights to medical care and legal consultation are fully upheld.
