• PTI chief says he was informed only after Imran’s check-up.
• Barrister Gohar urges political solution for ongoing crisis.
• Govt says Imran would receive third injection on March 24.
  

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leaders have renewed their demand for party founder Imran Khan to have access to his personal doctor and family, following the government’s announcement that the former premier was transferred overnight to a hospital for treatment of an eye ailment.

Imran was transferred to the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims) in Islamabad on late Monday, where he was administered a second dose of an anti-VEGF intravitreal injection as part of ongoing care for his diagnosed eye condition, the hospital said in the statement.

PTI chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan on Tuesday said the party had not been given prior notice regarding the second medical check-up of the PTI founder, reiterating that Imran’s treatment should be conducted at the Shifa International Hospital in the presence of family members and personal physicians.

Speaking to the media near Adiala jail in Rawalpindi, he said the government had mentioned a date for the examination but did not indicate that it would take place at night.

“Last night I was informed that the medical examination had been conducted and that he [Imran] had been shifted back to jail,” he added.

“There is no justification to obstruct his treatment or meetings,” Gohar said, adding that if a person is asked to be present during the PTI founder’s treatment, it should not become an issue of ego for another.

PTI has been urging the transfer of the former premier to a hospital after last month’s report revealed he was diagnosed with a serious eye condition, central retinal vein occlusion (CRVO).

Imran, 74, has been jailed since August 2023 after convictions he and his PTI call politically motivated.

Referring to the proposed ‘Imran Khan Release Force’, the PTI chief said the matter had been discussed within the party but emphasised that the party would not take any illegal or unconstitutional step.

“We are a political party and believe in political struggle. We do not believe in armed struggle or keeping militias,” he said.

Gohar maintained that the former ruling party would raise its voice at every forum — on the streets, in parliament and in the courts — but would act strictly within the Constitution and law.

“Pakistan’s problems have a political solution,” he said, adding that efforts were being made to hold negotiations, though others had not responded.

Separately, PTI leader Ali Muhammad Khan demanded that the PTI founder be granted access to his personal physicians.

Speaking to the media outside the Supreme Court, he questioned why the former premier was brought to and taken back from the hospital at night.

“Smugglers operate at night, not states. If the government report about his health is correct, then why so much secrecy?” he asked.

The PTI leader said that informing Gohar and the family before taking Imran to the hospital would have resolved the matter, adding that the former premier’s personal physicians never issued a political statement.

Meanwhile, the government has announced that Imran would be administered a third injection on March 24.

In a post on X, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Tariq Fazal Chaudhry said that the jailed former premier underwent a second procedure at Pims after showing signs of improvement following the first procedure at the same medical facility.

“Today’s process was completed successfully and after clearance from the medical team, he was shifted back to Adiala,” he added.