Imran Khan Returned to Prison After Being Taken to Private Hospital For Medical Exam
Former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan was taken back to prison early Friday (August 21) after a medical exam at a private hospital, the government said, following a Supreme Court order on his medical care.
Khan was taken from Adiala prison to Shifa International Hospital in Islamabad after midnight and examined by doctors before being returned to the prison, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said.
“A team of qualified doctors, including an ophthalmologist, a cardiologist and a physician, conducted a detailed examination of him and declared him medically fit,” Tarar said in a post on X.
Tarar said Khan’s sister, Azma Khan, was present throughout the examination and treatment.
Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party, or PTI, had earlier confirmed that he was transferred to the hospital following a Supreme Court order earlier this week.
Khan’s party and family had demanded that he be allowed to remain at the hospital for treatment.
Earlier, a senior Cabinet minister said the government would comply with the Supreme Court order and could consider treatment abroad if adequate care was unavailable at a government facility.
The latest development comes a day after Parliamentary Affairs Minister Tariq Fazal Chaudhry said the government had approached the Supreme Court to seek clarification on whether the medical relief granted to Khan applied only to the former premier or could be extended to other prisoners.
Chaudhry’s comments Thursday (August 20) came two days after a three-judge Supreme Court panel ordered authorities to take Khan to Shifa International Hospital in Islamabad for a medical examination, following months of concerns from his family and personal physicians about his health and access to medical care. The court ordered that he be examined by a medical board that includes specialists and one of his personal physicians, Faisal Sultan.
Earlier Thursday, Chaudhry wrote on X that the government would fully comply with the Supreme Court’s ruling and that its request for clarification was not intended to defy or delay implementation of the decision. He later said all arrangements were in place to transfer Khan from prison to the hospital.
After midnight, local media reported that Khan – who has not been seen publicly since his imprisonment in 2023 in a graft case – was being examined at the hospital.
The government maintains that under existing rules, prisoners are provided medical treatment in prison and can be transferred to government hospitals when necessary.
On Tuesday (August 18), a three-judge panel ordered that Khan be taken to Shifa International Hospital in Islamabad in the coming days and examined by a medical board that will include specialists and one of his personal physicians, Faisal Sultan.
The court also ordered prison officials to allow Khan weekly meetings with family members and telephone calls with his sons. Khan’s family has been struggling to secure access to him and have him examined by physicians of his choice.
Hours after the order, authorities allowed Tarar to visit him. Pakistan had barred visitors earlier this year after receiving intelligence reports about a possible attack on the prison where he is being held.
The order came months after Khan petitioned the court, asking to be transferred from a high-security prison in the nearby garrison city of Rawalpindi to a hospital and to be allowed access to his personal physicians, family and lawyers.
The court said the order was being issued because Khan’s health was at stake and access to medical care is protected under Pakistan’s constitution, according to Khan’s lawyer Salman Akram Raja.
Concerns about Khan’s health intensified in late January after his family said he had lost about 85% of the vision in his right eye, a claim the government disputed. Authorities later said Khan had regained about 70% of his vision in the eye and that his condition was improving.
The former cricket star turned politician was ousted in a parliamentary no-confidence vote in April 2022 and has been imprisoned since 2023 after being convicted in multiple cases.
(AP)
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