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• Govt refutes claims of delayed treatment
• JUI-F senator suggests PTI founder’s release on parole, bail, hospitalisation, or transfer to his residence after declaring it a sub-jail
ISLAMABAD: The upper house of parliament descended into pandemonium on Friday after a resolution concerning Imran Khan’s health was rejected through a voice vote.
Lawmakers from the opposition demanded a vote count, but the request was turned down by the presiding officer, Shahadat Awan.
The resolution, moved in the House by Senator Aon Abbas Buppi, sought the transfer of the former prime minister to a premier, high-standard hospital for a comprehensive medical examination and treatment. It also called for granting his personal physicians and private medical team immediate and regular access to assess his health and oversee his clinical care.
The resolution sought to ensure that his family had consistent access to him and was kept fully informed of his medical status and treatment progress. Opposition lawmakers, claiming they had a dominant presence in the House, gathered in front of the chairman’s podium in protest and chanted slogans against the government for what they termed the inhumane treatment of a high-profile prisoner.
The protest came a day after a report by Barrister Salman Safdar claimed Mr Khan’s right eye had been left with only 15 per cent vision “due to a delay in providing treatment”.
Special Assistant to PM on Political and Public Affairs Rana Sanaullah said the PTI founder had complained about an eye issue for the first time in the first week of January, contradicting PTI’s claim that their founder had been raising the issue for the past four months.
He emphasised that medical treatment had been provided promptly, without any delay, and added that the treatment administered was properly documented. He advised PTI not to do politics over the health of its founding chairman. “Jail doctors examine the PTI founding chairman every second day as part of routine medical care,” he asserted.
He said separate medical boards had reviewed his health condition 25 times.
He added that there was no reference to any eye ailment in the medical board meeting held on Dec 9, 2025. He said the PTI founder, who also met his lawyers on Dec 20, on the occasion of the Toshakhana-II case verdict, did not mention any eye problem then.
He said PTI lawyer Safdar was also present on that occasion.
“If the PTI has any suggestions regarding the medical care of its founding chairman, it should approach the Supreme Court of Pakistan,” the PM’s aide asserted, assuring that any directions issued by the apex court would be fully implemented.
Mr Sanaullah said the report furnished to the court clearly established that the PTI founder himself was satisfied with the living conditions in prison.
Opposition leader in the Senate Allama Raja Nasir Abbas said the former premier’s health issue should be viewed on humanitarian grounds.
“Let us go together and meet him. We will see him and report back to the Senate. Let people meet him, and things will normalise,” he remarked.
He called for burying dirty politics and setting new traditions. He insisted “criminal negligence” had been committed in his treatment.
He asserted the doctor who examined the PTI founder was not a retina specialist.
While speaking on the issue, PTI parliamentary leader Barrister Syed Ali Zafar said, “Enough is enough.” He said illegal and false cases had first been instituted against Mr Khan and regretted the situation had escalated beyond legal proceedings to the “deliberate endangerment of his physical health”.
Citing a report submitted by an amicus curiae to the SC, he said Mr Khan had complained of a serious eye problem three months ago. Despite repeated complaints and the worsening of his condition, the prison superintendent failed to ensure proper medical treatment and merely provided ordinary over-the-counter eye drops.
“Even when his condition deteriorated significantly and he reportedly lost vision in one eye, he was quietly taken to a hospital and brought back without transparency or proper disclosure.” Such conduct amounted to gross negligence and a violation of fundamental rights guaranteed under the Constitution, he said.
Barrister Zafar specifically referred to Article 9, the right to life and liberty; Article 14, the inviolability of the dignity of man; and Article 25, equality before the law and equal protection of the law, to emphasise that the right to life includes the right to proper medical care, particularly when a person is in state custody.
When the state detains an individual, it assumes full constitutional responsibility for his life, safety and health, he said, adding that any failure in this regard was a direct breach of the Constitution.
Barrister Zafar demanded the immediate transfer of Mr Khan to a fully equipped hospital where qualified specialists, including his personal doctors, could examine and treat him properly.
He also demanded immediate and regular access for his family so they could see him and monitor the treatment process, as well as full transparency and independent monitoring of his medical condition and care. “This is not a political issue but a constitutional obligation. The protection of life and human dignity is a fundamental right, and the state must be held accountable for ensuring it,” he remarked.
JUI-F parliamentary leader Senator Kamran Murtaza said the former prime minister’s eyesight was under treatment and endorsed the proposal that representatives from both sides of the aisle meet him. Senator Murtaza added that even if injustices had been committed in the past, they should not be repeated.
He said the available options included parole, bail, transferring Mr Khan to a hospital or declaring his residence a sub-jail. “Take the path that earns us respect in global democracies,” he said, adding that medical treatment was the constitutional right of every citizen, including the former prime minister, under Article 9.
PTI senator Dost Muhammad said he wanted to donate one of his eyes to the PTI founder, whom he described as the most popular leader. He expressed serious concern over the former prime minister’s health condition.
Amid protests by the opposition, ruling party Senator Pervaiz Rashid said it must be remembered that Imran Khan is a convicted criminal.
Published in Dawn, February 14th, 2026
