Rawalpindi, Feb 13 (.) Pakistan’s Parliamentary Affairs Minister Dr Tariq Fazal Chaudhry on Friday pledged “zero negligence” on the caring of PTI founder and former PM Imran Khan’s alleged near-blindness, stating that the former premier would be taken wherever he chooses for the best medical treatment, to cure his ailing sight, alleged to be operational at little more than 15 per cent.
Speaking to reporters outside Parliament, Chaudhry added that the incarcerated ex-premier would be taken “Wherever he wants to go for a check-up, he will be taken. If he wants to go to Al-Shifa Eye Trust, he will be taken there. If the Chief Justice recommends a doctor, he will be taken there.”
The remarks came a day after a two-member bench of the Supreme Court of Pakistan, headed by Chief Justice Yahya Afridi, was informed by PTI counsel Advocate Salman Safdar that Khan had been left with only “15 per cent vision” in his right eye, prompting massive criticism from the political opposition, which has accused the authorities in Adiala Jail of neglecting medical care.
Chaudhry urging restraint, acknowledged the matter is highly “sensitive” nature and slammed what he described as attempts to politicise the issue.
“Misrepresenting facts is completely unfair,” he said, while promising that eye specialists and “super-specialists” would examine the former premier and that “every possible treatment available” would be ensured.
Reacting to protests and criticism, the minister said that the government had not received any complaint from anywhere including Khan’s family in this regard so far, he said recalling visit by family members to the jail in December or during the medical board examination on Dec. 9, or when the Toshakhana verdict was announced on December 20.
According to the minister, a doctor had recommended on January 16 that Khan be shifted to the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) for an eye check-up. However, he claimed the transfer did not take place “at the request of PTI, not the jail authorities or the government”.
Following a medical procedure on January 24, doctors issued a report, he added, contrasting it with what he described as a subsequent “report by the lawyer”.
Amid alleged worsening of the situation, the Supreme Court on Thursday ordered the formation of a medical team to examine Khan’s eye condition and directed that he be allowed to speak with his children. Both the medical examination and the phone calls are scheduled to be completed before February 16. . . KK