Pakistan challenges top court order to move Imran Khan to private hospital

What the report says

Pakistan’s government has asked the Supreme Court to review an order that would move jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan from Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi to a private hospital in Islamabad for medical treatment. According to Al Jazeera, the chief commissioner’s office filed the petition on Wednesday, one day after the court directed prison authorities to transfer Khan within two days to Shifa International Hospital.

The court’s order also called for a five-member medical board and allowed Khan’s sister, Uzma Khan, and his personal doctor, Faisal Sultan, to participate in his care. It additionally granted weekly family visits and twice-weekly phone calls with his sons, while restricting public discussion of his health until the case returns to court on September 16.

The government argued that the court had bypassed required legal steps by issuing the transfer order without first hearing prison officials. Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar said the authorities want Khan examined at a public hospital, not a private one, and suggested prison rules leave such decisions to medical boards rather than judges. Information Minister Attaullah Tarar also criticized what he described as politicization of health issues.

Khan, 73, has been in custody since August 2023 after convictions he and his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party reject as politically driven. The dispute comes amid continuing concern over his health, including reported worries about his eye condition, and reflects the broader political tensions surrounding his imprisonment and the government’s handling of his case.