• Party demands involvement of family and personal physicians in process
• KP CM travels via commercial flight to attend TTAP gathering in Pishin

ISLAMABAD: While PTI founder Imran Khan on Monday underwent a third eye procedure at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims), his party refused to express confidence in the treatment without the involvement of his family and personal physicians.

The hospital said in a statement that the PTI founder was brought to Pims for a third dose of an anti-VEGF intravitreal injection. He remained vitally stable before, during and after the procedure.

A senior doctor at Pims said the ex-premier was brought to the hospital as the third injection was due.

He added that after obtaining informed consent, the injection was administered under microscopic guidance by surgeons, following standard monitoring, precautionary procedures and protocols in the operating theatre.

“The injection was administered and he was kept there for a while to ensure that he was stable, after which he was allowed to be shifted to Adiala jail,” he said, adding that the injection was administered in the eye chamber.

“As usually three injections are administered [in such cases], it is unlikely that there will be a fourth. However, the impact of the injection is assessed after four weeks, so it will be decided then whether another dose will be required or not,” he explained.

Mr Khan was diagnosed with a serious eye condition, central retinal vein occlusion (CRVO), in late January.

He underwent his first medical procedure on Jan 24, which the government confirmed a few days later.

His lawyer later told the Supreme Court that he had lost significant vision in his right eye while in custody.

A medical team examined him in jail on Feb 15, and he was taken to Pims on Feb 24 for a follow-up treatment, where he received a second anti-VEGF eye injection.

PTI Information Secretary Sheikh Waqas Akram told Dawn that the party continued to demand that the treatment be carried out in the presence of personal physicians and with the involvement of family members.

“We demand that Khan Sahib should be shifted to Shifa International Hospital and detailed medical investigations be conducted there,” he said.

Commercial flight

While the federal government has been urging the public to cut their expenses and reduce fuel consumption, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi on Monday departed from Islamabad to Quetta via a commercial flight, like an ordinary citizen, to attend a public gathering of the opposition alliance, the Tehreek-i-Tahafuz Ayeen-i-Pakistan (TTAP), in Pishin.

PTI’s Akram told Dawn that the KP chief minister travelled in line with the vision of Imran Khan.

“The PTI doesn’t believe in protocol. It doesn’t use a jet even for travelling to Mandi Bahauddin,” he said, without mentioning the name of Punjab CM Maryam Nawaz.

Mr Akram said that the KP government did not believe in seeking protocol or misusing public funds. “Our former KP CM, Ali Amin Gandapur, also usually travelled by road instead of by helicopter. The same was the case with Imran Khan as he travelled on commercial flights.

The PTI has an environment in which misuse of public money is not acceptable,” he said.

According to TTAP spokesperson Akhunzada Hussain Yousafzai, the public gathering was held in Pishin district under the leadership of Mehmood Khan Achakzai, the alliance chief and leader of the opposition in the National Assembly.

“The [KP CM’s] visit underscored the leadership’s commitment to engaging with the public and supporting the [Release Imran Khan] movement’s objectives,” he said.

Published in Dawn, March 24th, 2026