Pakistan's jailed Imran Khan loses 85% vision in right eye, lawyer says

Pakistan's jailed former Prime Minister ​Imran Khan has lost 85% of ​the sight in his right eye, ‌his lawyer ​told the Supreme Court, an ordeal that adds to legal and political challenges the leader is already battling.

Khan, 73, has ‌been in jail since August 2023, serving a 14-year sentence on corruption charges, one of dozens of cases he says were made up in order for the army to keep him ‌out of politics, a charge the military denies. "He has been left with only 15% vision ‌in his right eye," Khan's lawyer Salman Safdar said in Thursday's report seen by Reuters, quoting the former cricket star turned politician.

The fact-finding report cited Khan as saying he had been complaining about "experiencing persistent blurred and hazy vision" ⁠since ​October 2025, but that ⁠jail authorities took no action. Safdar submitted his report after a two-hour meeting with Khan ordered by the Supreme Court, ⁠which set a February 16 deadline for authorities to allow Khan access to his personal physician for ​the report on his condition.

Khan was taken to hospital this month for a 20-minute ⁠eye treatment procedure, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar has said previously. "We demand immediate and transparent implementation of the court's order, unrestricted ⁠access ​to qualified specialists of his choice, and an end to tactics that risk his life under custody," Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Party said in a statement.

The party, which had faced ⁠a crackdown after Khan's May 2023 arrest sparked nationwide protests against the military, emerged as the single ⁠biggest in a ⁠2024 election. But it said rigging robbed it of more seats to help other parties form a coalition government under Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, accusations ‌that Sharif ‌and his allies deny.