The development comes after a three-member bench, headed by Justice Shahid Waheed, directed the government on Tuesday to move Khan to Shifa International Hospital for examination and treatment by a multidisciplinary medical board after his party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), had filed a petition seeking his hospitalisation on the basis of his deteriorating health.
Khan was moved to the hospital in the early hours of Friday under strict security arrangements. It is not clear, however, how long the 73-year-old will stay there.
“Former Prime Minister Imran Khan has been shifted from Adiala Jail to Shifa International Hospital in Islamabad following Supreme Court order,” the PTI confirmed in a statement.
The government had sought to review the bench’s order but the Supreme Court registrar’s office returned the government petition citing incomplete paperwork. The government contends that allowing Khan to receive treatment at a private hospital of his choosing would be discriminatory.
Dawn reported that the government could file a new petition with “certain amendments along with an appeal against the registrar’s objections”.
Khan’s party and lawyers have been raising concerns about his health since February this year. At one point the party claimed he had 15 percent vision in his right eye after he developed a condition that was left untreated. He was eventually taken to the state-run PIMS hospital in Islamabad several times for short visits.
Khan has been imprisoned in Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi since August 2023, serving various prison sentences on corruption charges which he and his party deny.
