By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court on Thursday directed authorities to form a medical board to evaluate whether jailed former prime minister Imran Khan should receive treatment outside prison for a serious eye ailment, stopping short of ordering his transfer to a private facility as sought by his legal team.
A division bench comprising Justices Arbab Muhammad Tahir and Khadim Hussain Soomro issued the ruling on a petition seeking Khan’s immediate move to Shifa International Hospital in the capital for specialized care. The court instructed Islamabad Chief Commissioner Muhammad Ali Randhawa to constitute the board and include two prominent ophthalmologists: Dr. Muhammad Arif, head of the ophthalmology department at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences, and Dr. Nadeem Qureshi, a retina specialist at Rawalpindi’s Al-Shifa Trust Eye Hospital who has also served on a Supreme Court-ordered panel.
In its written order, the court disposed of the plea and required the board to submit recommendations to the chief commissioner “at the earliest.” The commissioner would then decide, based on those findings and in accordance with law and prison regulations, whether to shift the 73-year-old Khan from Adiala jail to a hospital outside its premises. The verdict also called for authorities to facilitate Khan’s meetings with lawyers and family members. Dr. Qureshi was directed to stay in touch with the family regarding ongoing treatment.
The court stressed adherence to the Pakistan Prison Rules. Under Rule 795, prison officials must inform relatives when a convicted prisoner develops a serious medical condition. Rule 197, the ruling noted, places the authority to remove a prisoner for special treatment with the government, not the judiciary. It concluded that the high court’s inherent powers under Section 561-A of the Code of Criminal Procedure could not substitute for executive discretion.
Judges observed that reports from the Adiala jail superintendent already documented “substantial steps” for Khan’s care, with additional improvement shown in recent assessments. The newly ordered board would build upon those existing measures.
The decision came after a tense hearing marked by sharp exchanges between defense lawyers, government representatives and members of Khan’s family. Senior counsel Sardar Latif Khosa, appearing for the founder of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party, told the bench that Khan had reported retinal problems since October. He accused jail doctors of treating the issue routinely at first and said the government had concealed the former prime minister’s deteriorating condition for five days before the information minister acknowledged a transfer to PIMS for care.
Khosa argued that Khan’s vision was now critically compromised, with only about 15 percent remaining in the affected eye. He cited the precedent of another former prime minister, Nawaz Sharif, who was allowed to seek medical treatment abroad, and pressed for Khan to be examined by his personal physicians at Shifa International Hospital even for a limited time.
Islamabad Advocate General Ayyaz Shaukat and Additional Attorney General Rashid Hafeez defended the government’s actions. Shaukat referenced a medical board already formed following Supreme Court directives, which included Dr. Qureshi. A similar petition had been filed before the apex court on Feb. 25 after Khan received follow-up treatment.
The bench pressed Shaukat on accountability. Justice Tahir asked whether the government would accept full responsibility if Khan’s condition worsened. The advocate general replied that it would. When Justice Soomro inquired if that pledge should be placed on the judicial record, Shaukat pointed to prison rules, which require satisfaction of the medical officer — not the prisoner — in deciding the place of treatment.
Khan’s sister, Aleema Khan, spoke briefly in court, voicing deep skepticism about the jail’s medical setup. “We have doctors in our family; why are his personal physicians being denied access to his medical reports?” she asked. The justices acknowledged the sensitivity of the matter, noting they had scheduled hearings day to day. “Life is the top priority; any loss would be irreparable,” Justice Arbab observed. While some prison rules might appear dated, the court said, the fundamental right to life remains paramount.
The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party swiftly announced it would challenge the verdict in the Supreme Court, describing the outcome as “extremely regrettable.” In a statement, the party said it was “deeply alarming” that requests for Khan’s transfer to Shifa International Hospital, regular family visits and inclusion of his personal doctors on the medical board had been turned down. It decried the lack of direct access to his physicians as a “grave injustice” to the former prime minister and the elected representative of millions.
Khan has been held at Adiala jail since August 2023. His family and party have voiced mounting alarm over his health since late January, when he was diagnosed with right central retinal vein occlusion. Lawyers who met him reported partial vision loss, and the family has repeatedly sought his admission to Shifa hospital. A petition filed March 2 under Section 561-A of the criminal procedure code alleged that jail authorities conducted examinations in secrecy and demanded access for Khan’s personal physicians. It referenced an amicus curiae report submitted to the Supreme Court that highlighted repeated complaints of blurred vision and delayed intervention. On March 3, however, officials at PIMS reported that Khan’s vision had “improved remarkably” after follow-up treatment at the jail.
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