Pakistan’s former leader Imran Khan taken back to prison after hospital check-up

By Sophia Saifi, CNN

Islamabad (CNN) — Pakistan’s former leader and cricket icon Imran Khan was taken back to prison Friday morning after a medical check at a private hospital in the capital Islamabad, the government said.

Khan’s sons told CNN this month they were worried about his health, claiming they were unable to visit him in prison. His family and lawyer had said the ex-prime minister had lost most of his vision in his right eye.

Pakistan’s Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said on X Friday that Khan was taken to hospital after midnight over a court order and was subsequently returned to Adiala prison following a medical evaluation.

‘A team of qualified doctors, including an ophthalmologist, a cardiologist, and a physician, conducted a detailed examination of him and declared him medically fit,” the minister said on X.

He added that Khan’s sister was present throughout the duration of the medical examination.

The government insists that prisoners are provided with proper medical care and sent to hospital if required.

Khan’s transfer to the hospital in the late hours was seen as a win by his supporters and his party who had long pushed for access to better medical care for Khan.

Zulfikar Bukhari, a senior leader from Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) party had called the move a “constitutional obligation” and not a “political concession.”

On Tuesday, Pakistan’s supreme court had ordered Khan to be taken to hospital for a medical examination and necessary treatment, following months of concern over his health.

The court had also ordered a medical board to be formed which was to include his personal doctors as well as his sister Dr Uzma Khan. The court had also reinstated weekly family visits for his family.

Once worshipped by millions, Khan led the country from 2018 until his ouster in a parliamentary no-confidence vote in 2022.

He has been in prison since his conviction a year later on charges of corruption and revealing state secrets which he and his supporters say are a politically motivated response to his opposition to the current government of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.

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