Pakistan’s former Prime Minister Imran Khan returned to incarceration on Friday shortly after several physicians, including a cardiologist and ophthalmologist certified him medically fit.

Mr Khan, 73, was taken to the hospital following a Supreme Court order that compelled prison officials to present him for medical examination. The Adiala jail superintendent had earlier reported that Mr Khan’s test results as of August 10 showed anxiety and unstable blood pressure.

Mr Khan, who founded the opposition party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) is being held on corruption charges after a court convicted him.

Mr Khan’s family had bitterly bewailed his detention, saying he might lose vision in his right eye if not urgently examined. 

The Supreme Court asked prison officials to take him to a private hospital but Mr Khan, convicted for corruption since 2023, was taken to a government facility, the Pakistani Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS).

The Pakistani government mounted a decoy at Shifa International Hospital stationing police vans in front of the building and clearing the vehicles on the street leading to the hospital. 

Pakistani information minister Attaullah Tarar said Mr Khan was taken to PIMS hospital over the “security situation created by PTI workers.”

Mr Khan’s sister, Norman, was also allowed to see him, which had not been done for years.