“There are none so blind as those who will not see.” — Jonathan Swift

Few quotations capture the constitutional tragedy unfolding behind Adiala’s walls with greater precision. At the centre of this crisis is, first and foremost, the serious loss of vision suffered by Imran Khan in one eye whilst in state custody. The tragedy is that a prisoner repeatedly complains of deteriorating eyesight, yet access to trusted physicians remains denied.

Medical treatment proceeds through delay, opacity and arbitrary administrative control. Family members remain deprived of contact. While one man gradually loses his vision inside a state prison, serious concerns regarding custodial mistreatment continue to arise before the courts; however, meaningful constitutional intervention from the judiciary remains absent.

Alongside the deterioration of Imran Khan’s eyesight stands another dilemma: the growing indifference of a judicial order. Judges can see reports of custodial mistreatment, denial of medical access, opacity and executive excess placed directly before them, yet continue to respond with hesitation and deference to administrative discretion.

The conduct of prison authorities may raise grave questions of abuse, but the deeper anxiety for any constitutional democracy emerges when courts appear reluctant to exercise their role as ultimate guardians of fundamental rights. When ocular injury unfolds openly before the judiciary and meaningful intervention still remains absent, the impairment ceases to be medical alone. It becomes judicial.

For months, alarming concerns have emerged regarding Imran Khan’s deteriorating health while incarcerated at Adiala Jail. His family has repeatedly complained that access to him is nonexistent. His legal team has been prevented from meeting him.

Personal physicians who had previously been permitted visitation were suddenly denied access without a meaningful explanation. Information concerning his medical condition has either been withheld altogether or selectively leaked through unofficial and filtered channels, thereby deepening public suspicion regarding the transparency of his treatment.

Then came the disturbing revelation that Imran Khan had suffered serious damage to the vision in his right eye. According to the amicus report submitted before the Supreme Court, Imran Khan had repeatedly complained for months of blurred vision. Those complaints were met not with urgent specialist intervention but with delay, indifference and superficial treatment.

A prisoner, deprived of........

© The Friday Times