Reporting snapshot · 23 Feb 2026. This account follows the protest as reported on the day; medical and legal developments after 23 February are not covered.
What happened
Members of the opposition staged a protest outside the Supreme Court of Pakistan in Islamabad on Monday 23 February 2026, demanding that the cases of incarcerated former prime minister Imran Khan be fixed for immediate hearing and that he be allowed to meet his family and personal doctors. The demonstration concluded around 2pm, Pakistan Today reported.
The protest was attended by Senate Opposition Leader Allama Raja Nasir Abbas and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Secretary General Salman Akram Raja, along with chief whip Amir Dogar, MNAs Ali Muhammad Khan and Shahid Khattak, MPA Shafiullah Jan and Muhammad Hussain. The opposition alliance Tehreek-i-Tahafuz-i-Ayin-i-Pakistan (TTAP) said in a post on X that participants were demanding a complete medical examination of the former prime minister by his personal doctors.
Imran Khan has been imprisoned since August 2023 and is serving a 14-year sentence at Adiala Jail in a corruption case. His health drew renewed attention after it emerged in late January 2026 that he was suffering from right central retinal vein occlusion, an eye condition affecting blood flow to the retina. His family and party leaders have since raised concerns about his medical treatment and access to physicians.
Why it matters
The protest places the condition of Pakistan’s most prominent opposition figure back at the centre of national politics during Ramazan. It follows a Supreme Court intervention that allowed PTI lawyer Salman Safdar to meet Imran Khan after weeks in which his family and associates were barred from visiting him. Safdar later submitted a report to the court stating that only 15 per cent vision remained in Imran Khan’s right eye, which triggered the renewed opposition protests.
Speaking to reporters, Allama Raja Nasir Abbas urged the government to take “confidence-building measures”, including permitting Imran Khan’s family members and private physicians to meet him. He said that although the opposition regarded the current rulers as “Form-47 ones”, talks would still be held with them if necessary.
Salman Akram Raja said the party did not trust “any government report”, apparently referring to a medical report submitted to the apex court by the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences. He noted concerns raised by Imran Khan’s sister, Uzma Khanum, about her brother’s condition and said efforts would again be made to meet Chief Justice of Pakistan Yahya Afridi. “Not just the PTI founder’s eye but his body needs a checkup,” Raja said.
Ali Muhammad Khan demanded that Imran Khan be shifted to a hospital, saying he was not seeking special treatment, and called specifically for his transfer to Islamabad’s Shifa International Hospital, as requested by his family and personal doctors. Shahid Khattak said the matter had been turned into an issue of ego and noted that Imran Khan’s wife, Bushra Bibi, was also imprisoned in what he described as political cases, vowing that party leaders would keep returning to the Supreme Court.
What is still uncertain
The government had not responded publicly to the specific demands raised at the protest, and no fresh hearing date for Imran Khan’s cases had been fixed at the time of writing. It was also not clear whether the Supreme Court would take up the opposition’s requests for an independent medical examination or a hospital transfer. TTAP had held a five-day sit-in at Parliament House the previous week before calling it off in observance of Ramazan.
Sources & reporting notes
This is a synthesis of published material, not eyewitness reporting. Sources were reviewed on 23 February 2026.
- Pakistan Today — "Opposition protests outside Supreme Court over Imran Khan's cases, health concerns"Published 23 Feb 2026 · The date and location of the protest, the demands on case hearings and medical access, the list of participants, quotations from Allama Raja Nasir Abbas, Salman Akram Raja, Ali Muhammad Khan and Shahid Khattak, the details of Imran Khan's sentence and eye condition, and the earlier Parliament House sit-in.
