Pakistan’s government is set to challenge a Supreme Court order directing that jailed former prime minister Imran Khan be transferred to a private hospital in Islamabad for medical examinations.
Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar said late Tuesday that the government would file a review petition, arguing that the court’s decision did not fall within the existing legal framework. The government wants Khan’s medical tests and treatment to be carried out at a government hospital rather than at a private facility.
Tarar said private medical arrangements would generally not be considered unless there was clear evidence that government hospitals were unable to provide the required treatment.
The three-member Supreme Court bench had ordered that Khan, 73, be transferred within two days to Shifa International Hospital in Islamabad. The court also directed that he be allowed to meet his family once a week and speak with his sons by telephone twice a week.
Khan’s personal physician, Dr Faisal Sultan, and his sister, Dr Uzma Khan, will also be permitted to remain involved in his medical examination and treatment.
The court placed conditions around the hospital transfer, warning that public gatherings on hospital premises would not be allowed. It also cautioned against using information about Khan’s health for political purposes and indicated that violations could result in the hospital-transfer order being reconsidered.
The next hearing in the case has been scheduled for September 16.
The dispute comes amid continuing political and legal uncertainty surrounding the former prime minister. Khan and his wife, Bushra Bibi, were sentenced late last year to 17 years in prison after facing multiple criminal cases. Khan has repeatedly maintained that the cases against him are politically motivated.
Khan has also faced health concerns in recent months. Earlier this year, he received treatment for an eye condition, with his family and lawyer claiming that he had suffered significant loss of vision in his right eye.
A former international cricket star and Pakistan’s prime minister from 2018 to 2022, Khan was removed from office through a parliamentary no-confidence vote during a period of intense political tension involving his government and Pakistan’s powerful military establishment.
His arrest in 2023 sparked widespread protests across the country and became one of the most significant political flashpoints in Pakistan’s recent history.
