Supreme Court orders early hearing of Imran’s medical plea

The Supreme Court on Friday accepted a chamber appeal filed by former prime minister and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court on Friday accepted a chamber appeal filed by former prime minister and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan. The court directed that his petition be fixed for hearing before a Supreme Court bench at the earliest.

Imran Khan has requested the court to order his transfer from Adiala Jail to Islamabad’s Shifa International Hospital for medical treatment. He has also sought permission for regular meetings with his family members, personal physicians and legal counsel. In addition, he wants his medical reports to be shared with his family.

The appeal challenged an earlier decision by the Supreme Court Registrar, who had returned the petitions after raising objections. The Registrar’s Office said the petitions were incomplete because they did not include a signed power of attorney.

During Friday’s proceedings, Advocate Uzair Karamat Bhandari appeared before Chief Justice Yahya Afridi in chambers on behalf of Imran Khan. After hearing the arguments, the chief justice declared the Registrar’s objections ineffective and directed the legal team to submit a signed power of attorney. The Registrar’s Office was also instructed to assign a regular case number to the petition so it could be listed for hearing without unnecessary delay.

The Supreme Court further ordered that a separate petition filed by Imran Khan’s sister, Dr Uzma Khan, should be heard together with his own case.

In the appeal, Imran Khan argued that the Registrar had exceeded his administrative powers by deciding the maintainability of the petition. His legal team maintained that such questions should be decided by judges because they involve constitutional and legal interpretation rather than administrative scrutiny.

The petition also requested that Imran Khan be examined by doctors of his own choice. The names included Dr Khurram Mirza, Dr Asim Yusuf, Dr Faisal Sultan and Dr Samina Niazi. It further asked the court to order his immediate transfer to Shifa International Hospital for a detailed medical examination and treatment.

The petition also sought uninterrupted access to his personal doctors, family members and lawyers during his imprisonment and treatment.

Dr Uzma Khan has also challenged an Islamabad High Court ruling that refused to order Imran Khan’s transfer to Shifa International Hospital. She also questioned the decision denying his family access to his medical information and visits by his personal physicians.

In her petition, Dr Uzma said Imran Khan and his wife are currently imprisoned in Adiala Jail, while his two sons live abroad. She said she is his closest immediate family member in Pakistan and, as a medical doctor, is deeply concerned about his health. She argued that she has the legal standing to pursue the case on his behalf.

Imran Khan has remained in custody since August 2023. He is serving a 14-year prison sentence in the £190 million Al-Qadir Trust corruption case. He is also receiving treatment for right central retinal vein occlusion (CRVO), an eye condition that was diagnosed earlier this year.

His medical treatment has become a major political issue in recent months. Opposition leaders have repeatedly accused the government of failing to ensure proper medical care and denying him access to his personal doctors. They have also demanded his transfer to Shifa International Hospital