Former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan was transferred from prison to a government hospital in Islamabad under tight security for eye treatment, but his party and family expressed concern at what they described as a secret midnight surgery.

The former cricketer-turned-politician was transferred from Adiala Jail, where he is imprisoned, to the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) in Islamabad early on Tuesday for a scheduled second eye injection, the hospital said in a press statement.

Concerns over the 74-year-old politician’s health have been raised after his lawyer claimed he had lost 85 per cent of the vision in his right eye due to delayed treatment while in custody.

The government said Khan was undergoing treatment and underwent surgery to remove a blood clot in his right eye in late January. However, his family objects to him receiving treatment without consulting his trusted doctor and are demanding urgent and independent treatment.

In a statement issued early on Tuesday, PIMS said Mr Khan was examined by an expert panel, including a consultant cardiologist who performed an echocardiogram and an electrocardiogram.

“Mr. Imran Khan was found to be clinically stable,” the hospital said, adding that the second dose of anti-VEGF intravitreal injection was administered by surgeons at PIMS and Al Shifa Eye Hospital.

“This surgery was performed as a day surgery. The patient’s vital condition was stable during the hospitalization, pre-op, during and post-op, and he was discharged with care instructions, follow-up advice and documentation,” the statement added.

Mr Khan’s foreign media adviser Zulfikar Bukhari said PIMS had issued a press release confirming that Mr Khan had been taken to hospital.

“PTI is adamant that a perfunctory two-line protocol cannot be considered a substitute for a comprehensive, independently verified medical report,” it said, adding that everything the hospital said was “irrelevant and mere speculation” as it had not been confirmed by Khan’s doctors.

“Given Mr. Khan’s custody status, he should be allowed access to his doctor and family. The continued uncertainty surrounding his treatment will only increase public anxiety and further undermine confidence in the integrity of the process,” he added.

Reacting to this development, PTI’s official X account said, “This situation calls for transparency, not secrecy.” The party said such “secret actions only raise further questions”.

His sister Aleema Khanum, who has been holding a sit-in protest outside the prison for days, said she only learned from news reports that Khan had been “taken to PIMS again in the middle of the night, probably for a second injection in the eye,” calling the night surgery a “crime.”

“We do not trust diagnoses or test reports from government medical facilities. We have already received a report from PIMS that doctors fear serious consequences if information about Imran Khan is leaked,” she said.

She asked why she didn’t tell her family and what the authorities were hiding.

“Our family rejects their reports even if they release such falsified reports to the public. We support our request that Mr. Imran Khan be examined and treated by experts at Shifa International in Islamabad under the supervision of his doctor and in the presence of his family,” she added.

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Tariq Fazal Chaudhry also noted concerns about Khan’s deportation, saying his eyesight had improved.

“We need to be clear that the government brought him to PIMS under strict security measures while meeting all legal and humanitarian requirements,” he said.

Mr Khan is scheduled to receive his third shot on March 24, exactly 30 days later, he added.

“According to the doctor’s instructions, there was an improvement in his vision after the first surgery, and taking this into consideration, the specialist recommended the second surgery,” he said.

Khan, a polarizing figure in Pakistan, has been in prison since August 2023, when he was first arrested after being convicted in a corruption case.

Although he was subsequently granted bail in several cases, he has remained in custody on multiple other charges and convictions ever since.

He is also serving another sentence for allegedly securing land from a businessman in return for helping transfer £190m recovered by Britain’s National Crime Agency while in office.

His alleged circumstances have prompted a group of 14 cricket stars, including those from political rivals India, to demand better treatment for Pakistan’s cricket icon.