Pakistan | By Jahanzaib Saqib , Sadaf Sundas Riaz , Uzair Saleem
ISLAMABAD — Pakistan’s Supreme Court on Tuesday ordered authorities to transfer jailed former prime minister Imran Khan from Adiala Jail to Shifa International Hospital, placing his treatment under specialist medical supervision after months of controversy over his health and access to doctors.
The three-member bench directed that Khan, 73, be moved to the Islamabad hospital for assessment and treatment and remain there until September 16, according to reports of the proceedings. The court also ordered the formation of a specialist medical panel to oversee his care.
The ruling represents a significant intervention in a dispute that has increasingly moved beyond Khan’s criminal cases to questions about prisoner healthcare, family access and independent medical assessment.
Medical Board Raised Health Concerns
The order followed consideration of reports from a medical board and the Adiala Jail superintendent.
The medical board recommended measures including regular physical activity, greater interaction with Khan’s immediate family and spouse, and access to newspapers, television and reading material to help manage blood pressure and anxiety.
Reuters reported that Khan has also suffered significant problems with his vision, adding to concerns surrounding his condition.
The Supreme Court’s intervention therefore goes beyond simply allowing an outside medical examination: it moves responsibility for assessing and treating Khan from the prison environment to a specialist hospital setting.
Court Also Addresses Family Access
The bench dealt with another long-running dispute surrounding Khan’s imprisonment — contact with his family.
The court directed authorities to facilitate weekly family meetings and telephone conversations with his children.
PTI has repeatedly complained about restrictions on access to Khan. Last week, party leaders demonstrated outside the Supreme Court over his health, pending cases and access for family members and personal doctors.
PTI welcomed Tuesday’s ruling and urged authorities to implement it promptly. Party leaders also asked supporters not to gather outside the hospital, seeking to keep the transfer from becoming a political mobilisation.
Government Response Opens a Second Legal Battle
The hospital order may not be the end of the dispute.
Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar subsequently said the federal government intends to ask the Supreme Court to modify the ruling, arguing that Khan could receive specialist treatment at a tertiary-care government hospital rather than a private facility.
That creates an unusual situation: the central dispute is shifting from whether Khan requires outside medical care to where that care should legally be provided.
Other government figures have indicated that the court’s directions will be respected, highlighting a distinction between complying with the ruling and exercising the government’s right to seek its modification.
The Changer Angle: Medical Oversight Is Becoming the New Legal Battleground
The significance of Tuesday’s ruling extends beyond the immediate question of Khan’s health.
For months, the political argument revolved around competing claims: PTI alleged inadequate access to doctors and family, while authorities maintained that Khan was receiving appropriate treatment.
The Supreme Court has now introduced something more concrete — outside institutional medical oversight.
That changes the nature of the dispute.
Once Khan is examined and treated by a specialist hospital board, subsequent arguments about his condition can increasingly be measured against documented medical assessments rather than competing political statements.
At the same time, the government’s planned challenge raises a wider question about whether courts can direct a convicted prisoner to a particular private hospital and what such an order could mean for other prisoners seeking specialist treatment.
The next phase, therefore, is no longer only about Imran Khan.
It could help define the boundaries between judicial protection of a prisoner’s health, prison regulations and the executive’s authority over incarceration conditions.