ISLAMABAD: PTI founder and former prime minister Imran Khan was transferred from Rawalpindi’s Adiala Jail to Shifa International Hospital in Islamabad on Thursday for medical examination and possible treatment, following directions issued by the Supreme Court.
The transfer was carried out under stringent security, with the Islamabad administration, police, Rangers and jail authorities making extensive arrangements at the hospital and along the route.
Imran Khan has remained in custody since August 5, 2023, and is currently serving a 14-year sentence in the £190 million Al-Qadir Trust case. Concerns about his health have repeatedly been raised by PTI leaders and members of his family, who had sought access to doctors and specialised medical treatment.
Ahead of his arrival, Shifa International Hospital was placed under a comprehensive security plan. Officials from the capital administration, Islamabad Police, Adiala Jail and Rangers were deployed to oversee the transfer and maintain security.
According to an Islamabad Police security order, hundreds of personnel from various units were assigned duties around the hospital. The plan included measures to protect the public and property, prevent any possible terrorist incident, maintain law and order and ensure uninterrupted traffic flow.
The Islamabad chief traffic officer was tasked with managing traffic and parking in the surrounding area, while police were directed to inspect abandoned vehicles and motorcycles. Checkpoints were established on roads leading to the hospital, and a security audit of the facility was also carried out.
Special teams comprising officials of the capital administration and police were constituted for Imran Khan’s transfer from Adiala Jail. Under the plan, police were to take him back to prison if doctors determined that hospital admission was not required.
However, if the medical board recommended his admission, the Islamabad chief commissioner could formally declare the relevant room, ward or floor of Shifa International Hospital a sub-jail. In that case, Adiala Jail officials would be stationed at the hospital, while police and Rangers would continue providing external security and maintaining law and order.
Hospital sources said the former prime minister was initially expected to undergo a detailed examination in the emergency department. A six-member team of specialist doctors was to assess his condition and decide whether further hospitalisation and treatment were necessary.
Two members of his medical board had earlier visited Adiala Jail, while his sister, Dr Uzma Khan, and personal physician, Dr Faisal Sultan, also went inside the prison to assess him before the transfer.
According to hospital arrangements, Imran Khan could be accommodated on the fourth floor of Block F, the hospital’s executive block. The same block had previously accommodated former prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi. Facilities for specialised kidney and liver examinations are also available there.
Sources said Imran Khan had been suffering from high blood pressure, eye problems and muscle pain. His right central retinal vein occlusion (CRVO), an eye condition that had previously drawn public attention, had also been treated through government-provided medical facilities.
The Supreme Court had directed the government on Tuesday to shift Imran Khan to Shifa International Hospital within two days for medical assessment and treatment.
The order was issued by a three-member bench headed by Justice Shahid Waheed, with Justices Naeem Akhtar Afghan and Ishtiaq Ibrahim as members, while hearing petitions concerning his hospitalisation and meetings with family members.
The court observed that the state had a constitutional and legal responsibility to protect the life, health, dignity and security of people in custody. It noted that imprisonment did not deprive a person of the right to humane treatment or necessary medical care.
The proceedings were attended by Imran Khan’s sisters Aleema Khan, Noreen Niazi and Dr Uzma Khan, as well as Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi and others.
Noreen Niazi was also permitted to meet her brother at Adiala Jail for the first time this year. According to jail sources, the meeting took place in the prison’s conference room, where she discussed his health and informed him about the Supreme Court’s order regarding his transfer to Shifa International Hospital.
Meanwhile, the federal government has filed a review petition in the Supreme Court seeking reconsideration of the order. The petition, submitted by Islamabad Advocate General Naveed Hayat Malik on behalf of the capital’s chief commissioner, termed the interim order discriminatory and argued that it exceeded the court’s jurisdiction.
The government and PTI have remained divided over the former premier’s medical care. PTI has accused authorities of failing to ensure transparency and restricting access for his personal doctors, allegations rejected by the government.
PTI leader Barrister Salman Akram Raja said the final decision on whether Imran Khan would return to Adiala Jail or be moved elsewhere for treatment would rest with the medical board. He added that if doctors concluded that a return to prison could adversely affect his health, other arrangements could be considered, including the possible declaration of another suitable building, such as his Bani Gala residence, as a sub-jail.
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