- Former Pakistan PM Imran Khan lost nearly 85 per cent vision in his right eye due to medical neglect
- Khan has been held in solitary confinement at Adiala Jail for over two years
- Court-appointed report warns urgent medical care and restored access are critical
Former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan has suffered a devastating loss of eyesight, severe health deterioration, and prolonged solitary confinement inside Adiala Jail, according to a damning report by a court-appointed lawyer that exposes what his aides described as "deliberate, inhuman, and illegal treatment" carried out under the watch of Pakistan's powerful military establishment.
A detailed report prepared by the Supreme Court-appointed amicus curiae (friend of the court) Salman Safdar, accessed by NDTV, reveals that Imran Khan has lost nearly 85 per cent of vision in his right eye, after jail authorities allegedly ignored repeated medical complaints for months.
The findings paint a grim picture of a former prime minister held in isolation, denied timely medical care, restricted from meeting family members, and cut off from legal counsel - a situation critics squarely blame on the Pakistani deep state and the Pakistan Army.
According to the report, Khan told the amicus curiae that "approximately three to four months earlier, until October 2025, he had normal 6 x 6 vision in both eyes." He then "began experiencing persistent blurred and hazy vision, which he repeatedly reported to the then jail superintendent," but "no action was taken by the jail authorities to address these complaints".
The neglect proved catastrophic. "He subsequently suffered a sudden and complete loss of vision in his right eye," the report records, after which an ophthalmologist from PIMS Hospital was finally called. Khan was diagnosed with a blood clot that caused "severe damage," leaving him with "only 15 per cent vision in his right eye," despite receiving an injection and limited treatment.
Safdar personally observed the former prime minister during the jail visit and noted his visible distress.
"The Petitioner appeared visibly perturbed and deeply distressed by the loss of vision and the absence of timely and specialized medical intervention," the report said, adding that Khan's "eyes were watery, and he repeatedly used a tissue to wipe them, reflecting physical discomfort".
The report also confirms that Imran Khan has been held in solitary confinement for nearly two years and four months, ever since his transfer to Adiala Jail in October 2023.
"He has been held in the same designated confinement area since his transfer and subjected to solitary confinement," Safdar wrote, raising serious concerns about Khan's mental and physical well-being.
Despite being 73 years old and suffering from multiple health problems, Khan told the court-appointed visitor that he was denied access to his personal physicians.
"Given his age, he required regular and periodic blood tests, which were not conducted," the report notes. Even basic dental care was withheld. "Despite being 73 years old and requiring dental consultation, no dentist had examined or treated him over the past two years, notwithstanding repeated requests".
Equally alarming are the restrictions imposed on his family and legal access.
Safdar records that Khan's immediate family, including his sisters, were not allowed to meet him regularly, despite court orders. "Only after a recent change in the office of the Superintendent Jail has he been permitted to meet his wife, which is now allowed once a week... for approximately 30 minutes," the report states.
Contact with his sons, Kasim and Suleman, has been even more limited, with phone calls allowed only twice in the entire year of 2025.
Access to lawyers has also been curtailed.
"For the preceding five months, he has not been permitted to meet his lead counsel or other members of his legal team," Safdar wrote, warning that this "gravely undermines his ability to receive instructions, prepare his defence, and participate meaningfully in ongoing proceedings".
The report concludes with an urgent warning. "Any further delay poses a serious risk to the Petitioner's well-being which must be prevented," Safdar cautioned, recommending immediate examination by expert ophthalmologists and restoration of family and legal access.
For Khan's supporters, the findings confirm long-held allegations that Pakistan's military-led deep state is using incarceration as a weapon to physically and psychologically break a popular civilian leader. As one line in the report starkly records Khan's own words: he "expects nothing beyond the basic necessities essential for his survival."
In the eyes of many, even that minimum is now being denied.
