Pims says its CT machine 'remains functional' following reports of failure to conduct Imran's heart scan

Pims notes its CT machine 'remains functional' after reports of failure to conduct Imran's heart scan.

Key points

• Ikram Junaidi Published August 25, 2026 Updated August 25, 2026 02: 36pm.
• In the statement issued on Tuesday, the Pims administration remarked, " CT machine, installed in 2022, remains functional and continues to support diagnostic services."
• Sources had earlier informed Dawn that the Cardiac Centre's conventional angiography facility at Pims was different from a CTA.
• Ikram Junaidi is a staff correspondent for Dawn with over 25 years of experience.
• After undergoing other tests, he was subsequently shifted back to Adiala Jail without the CTA.

Ikram Junaidi Published August 25, 2026 Updated August 25, 2026 02: 36pm. Join our Whatsapp Channel. Add Dawn as a trusted source.

ISLAMABAD: After reports that jailed PTI founder Imran Khan could not undergo a heart scan during a visit to the hospital last week, the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims) stated on Tuesday that its CT machine "remains functional and continues to support diagnostic services".

When Imran was brought to Pims last week for an eye procedure and other diagnostic examinations, doctors recommended a CT coronary angiography (CTA), but hospital staff reportedly remarked the facility was unavailable.

After undergoing other tests, he was subsequently shifted back to Adiala Jail without the CTA. It can support detect coronary blockages and assess the risk of a heart attack. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif additionally took notice of the non-functional CTA facility at Pims and constituted an inquiry committee to determine the facts.

Sources had earlier informed Dawn that the Cardiac Centre's conventional angiography facility at Pims was different from a CTA. While conventional angiography involved inserting a catheter into a blood vessel, a CTA was performed using a CT scanner.

It remarked that "imaging investigations are undertaken regularly on the basis of clinical assessment, specialist advice, patient-safety considerations and prescribed medical protocols".

"The use of a particular imaging procedure should be viewed within its clinical context and should not be interpreted unnecessarily, " it remarked.

Meanwhile, a senior doctor at Pims, who wished not to be named, informed Dawn that around a dozen CTAs had been conducted before the statement was issued.

After reports regarding the failure to conduct the test had emerged, the PTI had reiterated its demand to move Imran to Shifa International Hospital in Islamabad without any delay – which the Supreme Court had additionally directed on August 18.

PTI Information Secretary Sheikh Waqas Akram additionally cited details submitted to the court, saying a medical board constituted by the administration had examined Imran on August 10 while a Pims cardiologist had already recommended the test for him on August 1 due to fluctuating blood pressure, palpitations, headaches, restlessness and the potential risk of cardiac complications arising from his age and prolonged isolation.

"Even the government's own doctors considered this diagnostic test necessary, " he remarked.

When Imran was taken to Pims, the procedure was not performed, "Yet. Hospital authorities maintained that the required facility was unavailable, despite the presence of a functional CT scanner in the radiology department capable of conducting the test, " he alleged.

Ikram Junaidi is a staff correspondent for Dawn with over 25 years of experience. As well as public health problems, he covers national politics, particularly opposition parties.

For now, pims says its CT machine ' remains functional' following reports of failure to remains the part of the story worth watching, and further updates are likely as more details are confirmed.