Incarcerated leaders of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) have written to the Chief Justice of Pakistan, raising concerns over alleged restrictions on medical and legal access to the party’s founder and former Prime Minister Imran Khan.
In a letter addressed to Chief Justice Yahya Afridi, the PTI leaders urged judicial intervention to ensure that Khan is allowed to meet his personal doctor, legal counsel and family members in accordance with the law. The development was reported by Pakistani media outlets on Thursday.
The letter, issued through their lawyers, was signed by senior PTI figures including Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Yasmin Rashid, Ijaz Chaudhry, Omar Sarfraz Cheema and Mahmood-ur-Rashid. According to reports by Geo News, the leaders alleged that Khan was not permitted to meet his personal physician, relatives or legal team during his recent medical treatment at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) in Islamabad, where he was administered a second injection earlier this week.
In their communication, the PTI leaders compared Khan’s medical treatment with that of former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in 2019. They stated that when Sharif suffered from low platelet counts, the government ensured he received comprehensive care at Services Hospital in Lahore. They noted that Sharif’s personal physician was allowed to attend medical board meetings and that his family members and lawyers were granted access. He was also permitted to travel to England for treatment of a heart ailment, they added.
The PTI leaders alleged that the current government’s approach towards Khan reflected a “cloak-and-dagger” policy. They claimed he was initially denied timely access to medical facilities and that statements were issued only after reports surfaced about his CRVO (Central Retinal Vein Occlusion) diagnosis. The letter further stated that Khan’s family was informed about the administration of his second injection only after the procedure had been completed at around 2 a.m.
Meanwhile, PTI has also moved the Supreme Court of Pakistan seeking permission for Khan to receive treatment at a hospital of his choice. According to Dawn, PTI lawyer Sardar Latif Khosa filed the petition requesting that Khan be transferred to Shifa International Hospital in Islamabad for specialised eye treatment from a retina specialist.
