Imran Khan's Eye Condition Becomes National Political Issue
The eye condition of former imprisoned prime minister Imran Khan has become a significant point of contention in national politics.
20 Feb, 04:07 — 20 Feb, 05:09
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Pakistan says Imran Khan rejected 'serious deals' twice for release from jail
A top aide to Pakistan's PM claims Imran Khan rejected two "serious" release deals, one involving a former KP chief minister and another from abroad. The government denies any leniency, calling Khan a "convicted criminal" amid concerns over his deteriorating eyesight in prison.
By TOI World Desk
Read full article →Eyes wide shut
THE eye condition of the former, imprisoned prime minister Imran Khan has become the eye of the storm in national politics. This hot news has flooded all media channels and social media platforms. Parliament was cordoned off and parliamentarians confined for three days in the parliament building. Roads were blocked in the capital and there was rioting at various points between Islamabad and Peshawar. Opposition parties staged a dharna, giving a list of conditions for ending it. Despite sore ties these days, former cricket captains from across the border expressed sympathy for Pakistan’s former skipper. The government first kept its eyes shut to the problem and their spin doctors called it a storm in a teacup. The opposition was up in arms. The combined effect of the Supreme Court and the report of the amicus curiae, the TTAP dharna and the media, eventually led to the establishment of a medical board followed by the visit of a delegation of specialist public and private doctors. The doctors’ objective assessment has provided some relief that the damage to the eye is not as extensive as first reported and hopefully will improve with treatment. Reportedly, a large number of tests are also being done to look into any systemic underlying cause for venous occlusion. So, things seem to be on track where tackling the medical problem is concerned. But the underlying systemic problem is not just medical; it is also political. The eye affliction is underpinned by a widespread political infection yet to be addressed. It is affecting every sphere of life in Pakistan. As a result, people are becoming poorer, hapless and hopeless. Foreign direct investment is nowhere to be seen. Even local businesses are shutting down because of the very high cost of doing business. Unemployment is high and young professionals are leaving the country in droves. The continued political instability, accentuated and normalised by the underlying extractive political and economic institutions, is suffocating. When children continue to fall in gutters and die because the government concerned can’t cover the manholes and local government elections are not held, despite a constitutional responsibility to do so, primarily because political juntas have to share political and financial resources with district governments, then it is a case of elite capture. Treatment lies in the treatment of the cause. Let me try to return to the eye issue as I am pushing myself to confine this column to the eye ailment which I am finding very difficult. Let me try again. First, the principle. The healthcare of any prisoner in government custody is the government’s responsibility. This is the established law and practice globally. Even the healthcare of prisoners of war is the responsibility of the captors. Health in Prisons: a WHO guide to the essentials in prison health states that, first and foremost, all those working in the prison system must understand that imprisonment affects human health and that inmates possess the right to the highest attainable standards of health. Another very important principle is that of the equivalence of care. This means that “prisoners must enjoy the same standards of healthcare available in the community”. This principle is part of the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners. These were adopted in 2015 and named in honour of Nelson Mandela and his 27 years in prison; they are commonly known as the Nelson Mandela Rules. However trivial or abstract we consider the global standards, they still remain important as a guide for developing national laws and conducting our affairs. And now a word about the eye ailment CRVO — central retinal vein occlusion — if this is still the diagnosis. In medicine, anything involving the retina is serious. In the simplest terms, the retina is a very sensitive layer of tissue, made up of specialised cells called rods (for night and peripheral vision) and cones (for colour and sharp central vision) that forms the back wall of the eye. It detects light and converts it into neuronal signals which travel through the optic nerve to the brain where these electrical signals are interpreted as images. If the retinas of both eyes are not functioning then the person cannot see and goes blind. Arteries carry blood laden with oxygen and nutrients to the tissues and the veins bring the blood back after unloading these. If the central vein of the retina gets blocked, the blood cannot drain properly from the retina. As a result, back pressure builds up and blood and fluid start leaking into the retina. It leads to swelling in the macula (the central vision area) and the vision becomes blurred. If not attended to, the damage can be irreversible but if there is timely assessment and treatment the damage can be minimised and the vision restored. After proper examination by a group of specialist ophthalmologists, it has been determined, thankfully, that the extent of damage was not that large and that hopefully things will normalise. But whether they will normalise politically anytime soon is the billion-dollar question. I remember a professor from my medical student days who would repeatedly emphasise in his lectures that ‘treatment is the treatment of cause’. If we continue to treat the symptoms, they may provide temporary relief but the symptoms will keep returning and most of the time with a higher degree of intensity and vengeance, as the underlying disease keeps festering. Today, it is an inflamed eye, tomorrow it will be something else. We’ll continue to circle in a downward spiral unless all powerful stakeholders start seeing beyond their noses, assess the turmoil we are in and intervene appropriately, effectively and sustainably, before it is too late. The writer is a former SAPM on health with ministerial status, adjunct professor of health systems and president of the Pakistan Association of Lifestyle Medicine. Published in Dawn, February 20th, 2026
By none@none.com (Zafar Mirza)
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