Govt downplays Imran Khan’s condition as a “non-issue” while PTI writes to human rights organization

The government on Thursday termed the concerns expressed by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) regarding the treatment of former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s eye condition as a “non-issue” while the party wrote to international human rights organizations regarding the alleged treatment of the party’s founder in jail.

Imran has been in prison since August 2023, currently serving a term in Adiala Jail in a corruption case of £190 million. Apart from this, he is also facing trials in two cases under the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA) for the protests of May 9, 2023.

The party has been concerned in recent days about Imran's health, claiming that the jail administration and the government were hindering the treatment of his “serious eye condition” and demanding immediate attention to it.

Leaders of the opposition, including PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar, also brought up the issue on Wednesday, protesting against the reports of Imran being shifted to a hospital without informing his family or the party leadership. Information Minister Attaullah Tarar confirmed earlier today that the former Prime Minister was briefly shifted to the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) for medical treatment.

Speaking in an interview on a private media broadcaster, Minister of State for Law and Justice Barrister Aqeel Malik said the matter “was not a major event; it was a routine matter that has been blown out of proportion”.

He said that the hospital in Adiala Jail was equipped to handle different types of ailments and that the doctors were always available to Imran whenever he complained about something, including his toothache.

“It may be possible that the treatment was administered there, and if the equipment was not available or they needed a second opinion, the treatment was administered in the hospital. It’s a non-issue, a non-event,” he said.

However, the PTI also penned an open letter to the world’s leading human rights bodies, expressing grave concerns over what it termed as “systematic and escalating violations” of basic human rights against its founder.

The open letter was penned to some of the world’s leading human rights bodies, including the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and the International Commission of Jurists.

According to the letter penned by the PTI, it is “gravely concerned” about the systematic violations of basic human rights, constitutional guarantees, and due process being committed against its founder.

The letter also mentioned allegations made by Tarar regarding Imran’s request for medical attention, saying, “If this allegation is true, PTI demands that Mr Imran Khan’s immediate family (sons and sisters) and personal physicians be allowed access to Mr Imran Khan immediately.”

The PTI termed the secrecy regarding the medical condition and whereabouts of the former prime minister as “a clear violation of international custodial standards," including the UN Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners, commonly known as the Nelson Mandela Rules