ISLAMABAD (Web Desk) -Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) on Friday accused the government of flouting a Supreme Court order by taking incarcerated party founder Imran Khan to the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims) instead of Shifa International Hospital.
The Supreme Court had on Tuesday directed the government to move Khan to Shifa International Hospital, a private medical facility in Islamabad. Security was subsequently increased around the hospital on Thursday night.
However, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said on Friday that the former prime minister had instead been taken to the government-run Pims.
The Supreme Court had also ordered that Khan’s medical reports or information concerning his health should not be used for political purposes.
Khan’s sister Uzma Khan, who was present during his medical examination, addressed a press conference in Islamabad on Friday alongside his personal physician, Dr Faisal Sultan.
Uzma said they received a telephone call on Thursday asking them to reach Adiala jail. According to her, they arrived at the prison at around 8pm to 8:30pm and were taken to the room of a deputy superintendent of police.
She said Dr Sultan was later taken out of the room while she remained there. About 10 to 15 minutes later, she said, a female assistant sub-inspector escorted her to a vehicle.
Uzma said police officials did not respond to her questions about where she was being taken or where Dr Sultan had gone. She said she was subsequently taken to Pims.
According to Uzma, she questioned why she had been brought to Pims when the Supreme Court had ordered Khan’s treatment at Shifa International Hospital. She said officials told her that Khan had been brought to Pims for follow-up treatment related to his eye.
Khan has previously been taken to Pims for treatment of right central retinal vein occlusion (CRVO), an eye condition that came to light in late January.
Describing her arrival at Pims, Uzma said the area was dark and that a man used a mobile phone torch while taking her to an office.
She said she was later taken upstairs, where she found Khan sitting with doctors. According to Uzma, Khan appeared surprised to see her and told the doctors that she was his sister and that they were meeting after 10 months.
Uzma said she told Khan that he was undergoing a checkup and would later be taken to Shifa International Hospital. She said she repeatedly asked about Dr Sultan but received no answer.
According to her account, doctors examined Khan’s eye and conducted several tests. She said she was introduced to a doctor identified as Dr Arif but did not know the other doctors present.
Uzma said doctors asked Khan which eye drops he was using and later said that another test was immediately required to examine a blood vessel. She said she told them that Khan was expected to undergo a complete examination at Shifa International Hospital.
She said doctors subsequently conducted further tests and informed them that Khan’s eye condition and haemorrhage had improved. His blood pressure was also checked and was normal, according to Uzma.
Uzma said Khan repeatedly complained to her about his treatment in prison, alleging that he had been subjected to “cruelty” and prolonged isolation.
She quoted Khan as saying that he had not been provided reading material or television for the past 10 months and that his complaints about his health had not received adequate attention.
Uzma also quoted Khan as saying that a doctor who examined him on August 10 had linked severe anxiety and high blood pressure to his conditions in solitary confinement.
She said Khan also complained that his wife, Bushra Bibi, was being held in solitary confinement.
These statements were allegations attributed by Uzma to Khan during the press conference.
Uzma rejected reports that Khan had been unwilling to go to Shifa International Hospital. She said he was happy when she told him that he would be taken there for a complete examination and any treatment considered necessary.
However, she said Khan was taken back to Adiala jail from Pims instead of being shifted to Shifa International Hospital.
Dr Faisal Sultan, speaking at the same press conference, said he had been taken separately from Adiala jail to Shifa International Hospital while Uzma was transported to Pims.
Sultan said security arrangements were in place at Shifa and that he was asked to wait for Khan.
He said he waited for approximately two to two-and-a-half hours and was repeatedly told that Khan was expected to arrive. He was later informed that Khan might not come and had probably returned, after which Sultan also went back.
Sultan said that when he returned to Adiala jail, he saw Uzma getting out of another vehicle. It was then, he said, that they realised they had been taken to different hospitals.
Asked about Khan’s health, Uzma said his blood pressure was normal and his vision had improved, adding that only a small haemorrhage remained.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi, who also addressed the press conference, criticised the authorities over the episode and alleged that the Supreme Court’s decision had not been implemented.
He termed the government’s conduct contempt of court and said PTI would file a contempt petition over the events of Thursday night.
Afridi also rejected claims that PTI workers had gathered outside Shifa International Hospital.
