The Pakistan’s Supreme Court issued an order Tuesday regarding the transfer of Imran Khan, former Prime Minister and founder of the opposition Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, from the Adiala prison to Islamabad’s Shifa International Hospital. This decision follows a protracted legal battle concerning access to the former leader, a demand made by PTI for months. Uzair Bhandari, one of Khan’s lawyers, explained that the court’s directive encompasses a medical board assessment, including Dr. Uzma Khan, Khan’s personal physician, Dr. Faisal Sultan, and the former PM’s sister, Dr. Uzma Khan. The court explicitly permitted Khan’s family to meet him at the hospital and to speak with his sons, who reside abroad, according to Bhandari’s statement. The next hearing is scheduled for September 16, with the court establishing a three-member bench’s mandate to ensure Khan’s continued hospitalisation until then. This marks the longest period since his imprisonment in August 2023, when he was convicted in several corruption-related cases, which Khan and his party insist are politically motivated. The order follows a previous report submitted by Adiala jail’s superintendent detailing a cardiac board’s August 10 review of Khan, 73, which recorded fluctuating blood pressure and anxiety linked to restricted contact with his family. During Tuesday’s hearing, courts had twice declined similar requests since February, including an Islamabad High Court ruling that ordered a medical board’s assessment instead. Zulfi Bukhari, a senior PTI leader, emphasized that medical care provided within the prison system is no substitute for independent specialist evaluation. He asserted that PTI consistently called for Khan’s transfer to Shifa International and access to his own doctors, reinforcing the party’s longstanding position. The government, led by Rana Sanaullah, has insisted that Khan is receiving ‘the best available medical treatment’ and that his condition does not support PTI’s concerns. The order is part of a broader standoff over access to Khan, which PTI has increasingly framed as a precondition for reviving talks with the government. The government has renewed efforts to engage in dialogue but with no discernible success as of yet, while PTI leadership has announced a countrywide protest on September 27. The Supreme Court’s decision is significant given the previous rulings that ordered a medical board’s assessment instead of a transfer request.
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Source: Al Jazeera
