Pakistan to fight supreme court order to move ex-PM Imran Khan to private hospital

ISLAMABAD, August 19 – Pakistan's government intends to contest the Supreme Court's order requiring jailed ex-PM Imran Khan to be transferred to a private hospital for medical examinations, according to Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar. Tarar asserted that the ruling "is not within the confines of the law" in a video statement on X, the platform previously known as Twitter.

The government plans to file a petition for a review, arguing that Khan, 73, should undergo his medical tests at a government hospital rather than a private facility as mandated by the court. "Until there is evidence or material to demonstrate that government hospitals are incapable of providing such treatment, such arrangements are typically not implemented," Tarar commented.

The three-judge court decided on Tuesday to move Khan "within the next two days" to Shifa International Hospital in Islamabad. He will also be granted the opportunity to meet his family once a week and converse with his sons via telephone twice per week. The court order also stipulates that Khan's personal physician, Faisal Sultan, and his sister and medical doctor, Uzma Khan, "shall be permitted to remain associated with the prisoner's medical examination and treatment".

The judges cautioned against public gatherings within the hospital premises or the dissemination of health information for political purposes, warning that any violation could result in the order being overturned. The next hearing is scheduled for September 16. Khan and his wife, Bushra Bibi, were convicted last year of 17 years in prison for various offenses, which Khan claims were politically motivated.

Khan, who held the office of Prime Minister from 2018 to 2022, was arrested in May 2023, sparking widespread protests.