ISLAMABAD:
A medical board that examined former prime minister Imran Khan at Adiala Jail has recommended that he be allowed one hour of walking and relaxation, along with more frequent interaction with his immediate family and spouse.
It also recommended access to newspapers, magazines, television and reading material to help control the 73-year-old PTI founder’s blood pressure and anxiety.
The recommendations are contained in the summary of the medical board’s report submitted to the Supreme Court along with a report by the Adiala Jail superintendent. A three-member SC bench headed by Justice Shahid Waheed is scheduled to hear petitions concerning access to Imran today (Tuesday).
According to the summary, a boardcomprising Dr Muhammmad Arif Khan, head of the Ophthalmology Department at PIMS, Dr Akhtar Ali Bandeshah, cardiologist, Dr Muhammad Ali Arif, associate professor of medicine, and Dr Muhammad Farqad Alamgirexamined Imran on August 10.
The board recorded his blood pressure at 140/80mmHg and noted complaints of heaviness in the head and palpitations. It found no shortness of breath, heaviness, or chest pain but recorded “Anxiety +++”.
The report said Imran Khan had also been examined on August 1 by PIMS consultant cardiologist Prof Dr Akhtar Ali Bandeshah for complaints of uncontrolled and fluctuating blood pressure accompanied by palpitations, headache and restlessness.
According to the consultant’s assessment, Imran Khan attributed his symptoms and stress to infrequent meetings with his wife, family and social colleagues. He also complained of stress caused by the non-availability of newspapers and television.
The consultant recommended measures to de-escalate mental stress, including more frequent meetings with his wife and greater access to reading material. The medical summary noted that the 73-year-old patient was at risk of complications due to his stressful condition.
The medical board specifically recommended that Imran Khan be provided one hour of walking with some relaxation in his existing prison environment. It also recommended access to magazines, newspapers, television and books.
“Human interaction with immediate family member/spouse should be more frequent than the current time allowed. This will help control his anxiety and BP,” the summary said.
Jail administration’s response
In its report submitted to the Supreme Court on Monday, the Adiala Jail superintendent said Imran Khan and his wife, Bushra Bibi, were being provided adequate healthcare facilities and that their health and well-being remained a priority for the jail administration.
The superintendent said jail medical officers visited Imran Khan three times a day, checked his meals and recorded his vital signs, including blood pressure, heart rate and oxygen saturation. These details, according to the report, had been maintained in his medical record since his admission to jail.
The report further said consultants from different specialties at public-sector hospitals had visited the prisoners for medical examinations and that records of their examinations and prescriptions were available with the jail administration.
Regarding Imran Khan’s eye condition, the superintendent said immediate medical intervention had been provided when he was diagnosed with an eye disease.
According to the report, he was treated at PIMS by Dr Muhammad Arif Khan, head of the Ophthalmology Department, and Dr Nadeem Qureshi, a vitreoretinal surgeon at Al-Shifa Trust Eye Hospital, Rawalpindi. The administration claimed that significant improvement had subsequently been observed and that his vision had returned to almost normal.
The superintendent said the medical intervention demonstrated that the jail administration had provided the convicted prisoner with healthcare facilities from leading specialists at a public-sector teaching hospital.
The report also disputed concerns over access to Bushra Bibi, stating that meetings between the two convicted prisoners were being held every Tuesday in accordance with jail rules. It said that 84 such meetings had so far taken place.
The jail administration further stated that Salman Safdar, one of the leading counsels for Imran Khan and Bushra Bibi, had met Imran Khan on February 10 and April 8, 2026.
Jail objects to lawyers’ public statements
The superintendent also alleged that petitioner Salman Akram Raja and Uzma Khan had maligned constitutional office-holders and representatives of the state through media interviews, talks, and posts on social media.
The report alleged that such meetings had been used to “exploit public sentiments” against the judiciary, foreign policy, state institutions and law-enforcement agencies, and had incited disaffection against these institutions.
Advocate questions detention conditions
Meanwhile, commenting on the medical reports, advocate Maha Raja criticised the conditions of Imran Khan’s detention, saying they were below international norms and standards.
She said the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention had condemned what she described as Imran’s arbitrary detention as a violation of international human rights law.
“It is alarming that, flaunting international law, the authorities have systematically denied Imran Khan the right to a fair trial and subjected him to prolonged solitary confinement, limited access to medical care and absolutely no visitation rights,” she said.
Referring to Pakistan’s political history, Maha Raja said: “In Pakistan’s jigsaw-puzzled political maze, today’s prisoner is tomorrow’s PM and vice versa”. “The rulers of today should remember: ‘For whom the bell tolls, it tolls for thee’,” she added.
PTI press conference
The PTI on Monday expressed concern about party founder Imran Khan’s elevated blood pressure, which was revealed in a report submitted by the Adiala jail superintendent to the Supreme Court (SC) of Pakistan, and demanded that he be immediately transferred to the hospital for treatment.
Addressing a press conference, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi noted that the recent report on Imran Khan’s health was “very worrying” and had “worried the entire nation”.
Afridi said that “whenever Imran’s personal doctors checked his blood pressure, it was normal, but today’s official report said it was high”. He said Imran’s health concerns were a genuine, adding that “neither his family, lawyers nor his personal doctors had met Imran since December 2”.
