SC Orders Imran Khan’s Transfer to Shifa Int’l Hospital, Bars Politics Over His Medical Treatment

Apex court orders medical board, weekly family meetings and phone calls with Imran’s children, while directing strict confidentiality of health reports as PTI assures compliance 

Staff Report

ISLAMABAD: In a much-needed move, the Supreme Court on Tuesday ordered authorities to shift jailed PTI founder and former prime minister Imran Khan to Islamabad’s Shifa International Hospital for a medical checkup, delivering a significant ruling on his long-running demand for access to specialised treatment and personal physicians.

The three-member bench of the apex court also directed the formation of a medical board with which Imran’s personal physician Dr. Faisal and his sister, Dr Uzma Khan, are to remain associated, ensured weekly meetings with his family and ordered that his medical reports remain strictly confidential and not be used for political purposes.

A three-member SC bench, headed by Justice Shahid Wahid and comprising Justice Naeem Akhtar Afghan and Justice Ishtiaq Ibrahim, issued the historic ruling on ex-prime minister Imran’s petition for his hospitalisation.

Moreover, the top court also directed Imran’s family and lawyers not to share his medical report with the media, with Justice Naeem Akhtar Afghan ordering that the report be kept completely confidential.

“We assure the court that the medical report will remain completely confidential,” PTI Secretary General Salman Akram Raja said. The court further directed that no political activity, media talks or press conferences be held outside the hospital.

“Do not engage in politics outside the hospital,” Justice Naeem Akhtar said. “There are other patients in the hospital,” he added, stressing that other patients should not be affected. Raja and PTI Parliamentary Secretary Shahid Khattak assured the court that no political activity would take place outside the hospital. “Our political activities will remain completely separate,” Raja said.

The court also directed that arrangements be made for Imran to have telephone conversations with his children. The SC ordered that Imran’s medical reports not be used for political purposes. The court warned that the order could be withdrawn if its directives were violated, while allowing the government and other parties to approach the court if they believed the orders were not being implemented.

“If anyone violates the law, the meeting will not take place,” the Islamabad Advocate General said. “If he is violating the law, will you also violate it?” Justice Shahid Waheed asked. “Meeting his sisters is not a favour; it is their fundamental right,” Justice Waheed added. The ruling came a day after the superintendent of the Adiala jail, where Imran is imprisoned since August 2023, submitted a report to the SC on the ex-premier’s health condition.

According to the report, the jail administration said adequate healthcare facilities were being provided to the couple, with their health and well-being a priority. Medical officers visit Imran Khan thrice a day, checking his meals and recording his blood pressure, heart rate and oxygen saturation.

However, an annexure to the report stated that Dr Akhtar Ali Bandeshah of Pims examined him on August 1 and noted complaints of uncontrolled and fluctuating blood pressure, palpitations, headache and restlessness. The ex-premier attributed his symptoms and stress partly to infrequent meetings with his wife, family and social contacts, as well as the absence of newspapers and TV.

The doctor recommended measures to reduce mental stress, including more frequent meetings with his wife and access to reading material. He also recommended CT coronary angiography and an increase in BP medication, noting that the 74-year-old PTI leader faced a risk of complications.

On August 10, the SC was informed, a medical board comprising Pims specialists examined him after he complained of heaviness in the head and palpitations. It recommended a one-hour daily walk and relaxation in his prison routine, besides access to newspapers, magazines, television and books.

The board also recommended more frequent interaction with immediate family members or his spouse, saying this could help control his anxiety and blood pressure. The report also cited his treatment for an eye condition at Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims) in Islamabad and said his vision had almost returned to normal after intervention by senior ophthalmologists.

It is pertinent to mention here that in February, it was revealed by a report prepared by Barrister Salman Safdar on the SC’s direction that Imran had informed officials that his right eye was functioning at only 15% capacity. Safdar submitted the report to a two-member bench. As a result, the SC ordered that Imran be granted access to his personal physicians in Adiala Jail.

Imran has been taken to PIMS for eye treatment multiple times after his eye ailment, right central retinal vein occlusion (CRVO), came to light in late January. Meanwhile, PTI and the government have been engaged in a blame game, with the latter accusing the former of a lack of transparency in not ensuring appropriate treatment for Imran. For its part, the opposition had been demanding that the former premier be shifted to Shifa International Hospital, be treated in the presence of his personal physicians and allowed to meet his family.