By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court of Pakistan on Tuesday ordered the government to move jailed former prime minister Imran Khan to Shifa International Hospital in Islamabad within two days, delivering a ruling his party had sought for months amid mounting concern over his eyesight and general health.
A three-member bench headed by Justice Shahid Waheed, and including Justices Naeem Akhtar Afghan and Ishtiaq Ibrahim, issued the order in a packed Courtroom No 3 while hearing a batch of petitions seeking Khan’s hospitalisation and access to his family. The 73-year-old former premier, his sister Dr Uzma Khan, Mashal Azam and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf secretary general Salman Akram Raja had all approached the court, asking for his transfer to Shifa, access to his personal physicians, meetings with family and lawyers, and disclosure of his medical records.
Khan’s sisters Aleema Khan, Noreen Niazi and Dr Uzma Khan attended the hearing, as did Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi. Approached by reporters afterwards, Aleema said she could not comment, citing an assurance given to the court that the family would not speak to the media about the case.
Medical board to be formed
Under the seven-page order authored by Justice Waheed, the relevant officer or government must, in coordination with Shifa’s management, set up a medical board comprising a physician, general surgeon, internal medicine specialist, eye specialist and cardiologist to examine and treat Khan. Dr Faisal Sultan, his personal physician, and Dr Uzma Khan will be permitted to remain involved in his care.
“We are mindful of the constitutional and legal obligation of the state, and consequently of the Supreme Court, to safeguard the life, health, dignity and security of persons in custody,” the order stated, adding that “a prisoner does not, by reason of his incarceration, cease to be entitled to humane treatment and necessary medical care.”
The court described the directions as an interim arrangement, issued without prejudice to the rights and contentions of either side, and said they must be complied with in letter and spirit until the next hearing. During proceedings, Additional Attorney General Chaudhry Aamer Rehman objected to the maintainability of the petition, arguing it did not entitle the petitioner to relief — an objection the court said would be examined at the next hearing, alongside any other issues raised by the respondents.
The order requires authorities to submit Khan’s complete medical record since his arrest, including test results, prescriptions and treatment details, as well as a record of all meetings he has had with family and lawyers over the past three months, and full details of every case in which he has been charged, tried or convicted. Costs of his treatment at Shifa will be borne by Khan or his family.
The court also imposed conditions on how the arrangement is to be handled. Family members, party officials and lawyers are barred from disclosing his health condition or medical reports to the media until the next hearing, and the order states plainly that “the prisoner, or any person related to or associated with him in any capacity, will not use medical reports or information concerning his health as an instrument for political gain.” No public gathering will be permitted on the hospital premises, and the government must arrange adequate security throughout his stay. Any non-compliance, the court warned, would be viewed strictly and could see the facilities withdrawn.
Family visits will be permitted once a week, and Khan will be allowed to speak to his sons by telephone twice weekly. His complete medical reports from Shifa are to be placed before the court at the next hearing, when the case will resume as part-heard on 16 September.
The bench noted that the petitioner’s medical synopsis “prima facie indicated a deterioration in his health,” which had prompted the interim measure. It also referenced an Islamabad High Court order of 24 October 2025 that had dropped contempt proceedings against jail authorities without recording reasons — a decision the Supreme Court said fell short of the standards required for a fair trial. “The failure to record reasons not only runs contrary to the requirement of a fair trial but also offends the principles of natural justice,” the order said, noting that notices had now been issued to all respondents, who must submit written explanations and appear in person before the next hearing.
‘Ray of hope’
PTI welcomed the ruling, saying in a statement on X that it expected the directives to be implemented “without any delay” and appealing to supporters not to gather outside Shifa. “We appeal to all our workers to co-operation in ensuring the implementation of the court order and play a responsible role in maintaining a peaceful environment outside the hospital, in the interest of Imran’s health and treatment,” the statement said, calling the ruling an important step towards safeguarding Khan’s right to health and human dignity.
Speaking to reporters outside the court, Raja called it a “ray of hope” and said the party was grateful that “a demand we had been making for a year has been accepted.” He described the order as excellent and said it would give Khan’s family authentic information about his condition. He said he had personally assured the court there would be no crowding outside Shifa and that his party would not let any disruption affect other patients’ treatment there, and had also committed that Khan’s medical reports would not be made public. “We made this promise to the court because Imran’s health and life are important to us,” he said.
Afridi, standing alongside Raja, echoed the “ray of hope” description and said all PTI workers stood behind the commitments Raja had made, warning against any action that would disrespect the court or the party. He cautioned that “miscreants” not affiliated with PTI might attempt to stir unrest, but insisted party workers would remain peaceful.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Tariq Fazal Chaudhry told Geo News the government would implement the court’s order “to the very letter,” adding that Khan’s health had always been a federal responsibility. “Our differences with the PTI founder are political, not personal,” he said.
Jail report cited deteriorating symptoms
The ruling followed a report submitted to the court a day earlier by the superintendent of Rawalpindi’s Adiala jail, where Khan has been held since August 2023. The jail administration said adequate healthcare was being provided, with medical officers visiting him three times daily to check his blood pressure, heart rate and oxygen saturation.
An annexure to that report, however, detailed an examination by Dr Akhtar Ali Bandeshah of PIMS on 1 August, which recorded complaints of uncontrolled and fluctuating blood pressure, palpitations, headaches and restlessness. Khan had attributed some of his symptoms to infrequent meetings with his wife and family and the absence of newspapers and television. The doctor recommended more frequent family meetings, access to reading material, a CT coronary angiography and increased blood pressure medication, noting the risk of complications at his age.
A further examination on 10 August, after Khan complained of heaviness in the head and palpitations, led a PIMS medical board to recommend a daily hour-long walk, a relaxed prison routine, access to newspapers, magazines, television and books, and more frequent contact with immediate family to help manage his anxiety and blood pressure. The same report noted his vision had almost returned to normal following treatment for central retinal vein occlusion in his right eye, an ailment first identified in late January.
Sister allowed jail visit for first time this year
The court’s order coincided with a rare family visit. Noreen Niazi was permitted to enter Adiala jail on Tuesday and meet her brother for the first time this year, arriving at Gate No 5 under police escort. Jail sources said the pair met in the conference room, where they discussed his health, and that Niazi informed him of the Supreme Court’s order regarding his transfer to Shifa.
Khan’s other sisters, Aleema Khan and Dr Uzma Khan, along with his cousin Qasim Zaman, were stopped at Dahgal Naka, a checkpoint on Adiala Road, and barred from proceeding to the jail. KP senior provincial minister Meena Khan and PTI members Khalid Yousuf Chaudhry and Shahid Khattak were present at the nearby Factory checkpoint, where a heavy police contingent had been deployed. Separately, Khan’s wife Bushra Bibi met family members — her children Musa and Mubashara Maneka and sister-in-law Mehrunnisa — in a 40-minute conference room meeting that touched on her health and legal matters.
Speaking to reporters at the checkpoint, Aleema said the Supreme Court’s ruling had come after eight months of demands from the party. “Politics does not trump health,” she said, confirming Niazi would be allowed to see her brother. “We are his sisters — we talk about his health.” She said the family would not speak to media on leaving the jail, and argued that the Supreme Court should also grant bail to Khan and Bushra Bibi: “If the founder has got relief, then Bushra Bibi’s charges are weak.” Asked about a case filed against her over an October 2024 protest, she said a witness had yet to be cross-examined, despite the family requesting it be expedited.
Before entering the jail, Niazi told reporters she intended to tell her brother “what efforts PTI members have made for him” and inform him of the court’s order to move him to Shifa. PTI lawyer Advocate Awais Younas Chaudhry said the party finally had hope of learning Khan’s real-time condition, though it had been agreed Niazi would not speak to media afterwards, and that no PTI gathering would take place outside the hospital — “If anyone has reached there, the PTI will disassociate itself from them.” True to that arrangement, Niazi declined to answer questions as she left the jail, gesturing for silence with a finger to her lips.
Khan’s last confirmed family meeting before Tuesday was with Dr Uzma Khan on 2 December 2025, after which Uzma said his health was fine but that he was suffering “mental torture” in isolation. He had previously met Niazi on 4 November last year.
Long-running dispute over access and treatment
Khan, convicted in the £190 million Al-Qadir Trust corruption case, is serving a 14-year sentence and has been imprisoned since his conviction in the Toshakhana case in August 2023. Although the Islamabad High Court had earlier ordered twice-weekly family meetings on Tuesdays and Thursdays, he had gone months without visitors.
His lawyer, Naeem Haider Panjutha, said the court had directed authorities to move him within 48 hours and keep him at Shifa until 16 September. Spokesperson Zulfikar Bukhari told Arab News the order was welcome but overdue. “It’s a very welcomed order and we wish it had happened sooner so his eye and general health would not have deteriorated this much,” he said. “He should remain in hospital until all doctors are satisfied.”
Concern over Khan’s eyesight first surfaced in January, when he was diagnosed with central retinal vein occlusion — a blockage in the vein draining blood from the retina that can cause serious or permanent vision loss. He was taken from Adiala jail to PIMS on 24 January for a 20-minute procedure that the government said he consented to, though PTI and his family said they had not been informed in advance and accused the authorities of excluding his relatives, lawyers and personal physicians from decisions about his care. He returned to PIMS in February for a second injection, prompting further objections from his party over what it called secrecy surrounding his treatment.
The government and PTI have traded blame throughout, with the party accusing officials of a lack of transparency over his care and the government rejecting the claims. Khan was removed from office in a no-confidence vote in April 2022 and has since faced numerous criminal cases, which he maintains are politically motivated attempts to keep him out of politics — allegations the government denies.
PTI, which retains substantial public support despite Khan’s imprisonment, held rallies across the country on 5 August marking three years since his arrest, as part of a renewed campaign demanding his release. Afridi has warned that party supporters could march on Islamabad in September if Khan is not freed.
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