Imran’s sister makes third bid for early hearing of contempt plea

ISLAMABAD: Dr Uzma Khan, sister of incarcerated Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan, has approached the Supreme Court for the third time, seeking an early hearing of her contempt petition against the federal government over its alleged failure to comply with an order regarding his transfer to a private hospital.

The fresh application, filed on Tuesday through Advocate Uzair Karamat Bhandari, requests the apex court to schedule the contempt case for next week. Uzma maintains that the government’s actions have violated the court’s earlier directions concerning Imran’s medical treatment.

On August 18, a three-member Supreme Court bench had directed authorities to transfer the former prime minister to Shifa International Hospital in Islamabad within two days. The order was issued while the court was hearing petitions concerning his health.

However, instead of shifting him to the designated private facility, authorities took Imran to the government-run Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) for a medical examination before returning him to prison.

Uzma subsequently filed a contempt petition on August 22, naming Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and several senior government and prison officials as respondents.

Her two earlier requests for an urgent hearing were rejected by the Supreme Court registrar’s office. The registrar maintained that cases had to be taken up according to the prescribed sequence, with 94 criminal original petitions from the same category already awaiting hearings.

The latest application highlights growing concerns about Imran’s health, particularly following reports that his blood pressure recently climbed to 192. Uzma has argued that further delays could continue to jeopardise his fundamental rights, including access to proper medical facilities, specialist advice and family members.

The contempt petition also seeks arrangements for weekly meetings between Imran and his family, including his sisters Noreen Niazi and Aleema Khan, as well as his cousin Qasim Zaman. It further requests permission for him to speak with his sons, Kasim and Sulaiman Khan, over the phone twice a week.

The legal proceedings have also been affected by the jurisdictional question involving the Supreme Court and the Federal Constitutional Court (FCC).

On September 16, the Supreme Court postponed proceedings on petitions concerning Imran’s health after the FCC directed its office to requisition the relevant cases and place them before it under Article 175-E of the Constitution.

The Supreme Court had expressed reservations about the FCC’s intervention but observed that judicial propriety required it to defer the matter. The proceedings were adjourned for a date after three weeks, but no fresh hearing date has been announced.

The FCC’s directive followed a petition by three inmates at Adiala Jail seeking relief similar to the interim order granted to Imran on August 18.

The dispute centres on Article 175-E, introduced through the 27th Constitutional Amendment, which empowers the FCC to call for records of cases and decide matters involving substantial questions of constitutional law.