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

Pakistan's jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan has lost 85 per cent 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 per cent 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.