Senate witnesses pandemonium after resolution on Imran’s health rejected

ISLAMABAD: The upper house of Parliament descended into pandemonium on Friday after a resolution expressing concern over the health of incarcerated PTI founder Imran Khan and demanding that he be shifted to a hospital for medical examination was rejected through a voice vote.

The development came a day after Barrister Salman Safdar submitted a report in the Supreme Court, which stated that the former premier had only 15 per cent vision in his right eye due to a delay in imparting treatment.

The resolution  was moved by PTI Senator Aon Abbas Buppi. It demanded that the ex-premier be moved to a “premier, high‑standard hospital for comprehensive medical examination and treatment”.

It also demanded that Imran’s personal physicians and private medical team be granted immediate and regular access to evaluate his health and oversee his clinical care.

It also sought to ensure Imran’s family had consistent access to him and was kept fully informed of his medical status and treatment progress.

However, the resolution was rejected through a voice vote. The opposition demanded a vote count but that request was also rejected by the presiding officer, Shahadat Awan.

Subsequently, opposition lawmakers gathered in front of the chairman’s podium in protest and chanted slogans against the government for what they called the inhumane treatment of a high-profile prisoner.

During the session, Prime Minister’s Adviser on Political and Public Affairs Rana Sanaullah claimed that the PTI founding chairman complained for the first time about an eye issue in the first week of January, contrary to the claim of PTI that their founder had been complaining about this for the past four months.

He emphasised that medical treatment was provided promptly, without any delay. He further noted that the treatment administered was properly documented. Sanaullah advised PTI not to do politics on the health of its founding chairman.

“Jail doctors examine the PTI founding chairman every second day as part of routine medical care,” he asserted. He said separate medical boards had reviewed his health condition 25 times.

Sanaullah said there was no reference to his eye ailment in the medical board held on December 9, 2025.

He further said that the counsels met the PTI founding chairman on December 20 on the occasion of the Toshakhana-II Case verdict and at that time, he did not refer to the eye ailment. He pointed out that PTI lawyer Safdar was also present on the occasion. “If the PTI has any suggestions regarding the medical care of its founding chairman, it should approach the Supreme Court of Pakistan,” the PML-N leader said, assuring that any directions issued by the apex court would be fully implemented.

Sanaullah said the report submitted to the Supreme Court clearly established that the PTI founding chairman himself was satisfied with the living conditions in the prison.

Senate opposition leader, Allama Raja Nasir Abbas, noted that the PTI founder’s health issue should be viewed on humanitarian grounds.

“Let’s go together and meet him. We will go see him and report back to the Senate. Let people meet him, things will normalise,” he remarked.

Abbas called for burying dirty politics and said new traditions should be set. He insisted that criminal negligence had been committed while treating Imran.

He asserted that the doctor who examined the PTI founder was not a retina specialist.

However, PTI Senator Ali Zafar, who is also the party’s parliamentary leader in the Senate, said, “Enough is enough.”

He said that at first, illegal and false cases were instituted against Imran, lamenting that the situation had now escalated beyond legal proceedings to deliberately endangering the PTI founder’s physical health. Staff Report