Pakistan SC orders shifting of Imran Khan to private hospital for medical checkup

Pakistan's Supreme Court has ordered the shifting of jailed former prime minister Imran Khan to a private hospital in Islamabad for a medical examination. The order came after petitioners sought hospitalisation, citing concerns over his treatment at government hospitals.

Islamabad: Pakistan’s Supreme Court on Tuesday ordered the shifting of incarcerated former prime minister Imran Khan to a private hospital for medical examination, a day after jail authorities said the 73-year-old’s eyesight was “almost normal”.

The court issued the directive while hearing several identical petitions following an eye ailment that surfaced earlier this year.

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The petitioners had asked the court for hospitalisation of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder, arguing that they were not satisfied with the treatment at government hospitals.

A three-member bench headed by Justice Shahid Waheed ordered that Khan be taken to Shifa International Hospital in Islamabad in the next few days.

“Mindful of the fundamental rights, we are issuing this order to ensure the health and safety of the prisoner,” Justice Waheed said.

The former cricketer-turned-politician, who has been in jail since August 2023, has been taken to the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) in Islamabad for eye treatment multiple times after his eye ailment, right central retinal vein occlusion (CRVO), came to light in late January.

Adiala Jail authorities said that Khan was treated properly since his medical condition surfaced. He was treated at PIMS by the hospital’s head of ophthalmology, Dr Muhammad Arif Khan, and Dr Nadeem Qureshi, a vitreo-retinal surgeon at Alshifa Trust Eye Hospital in Rawalpindi, the report said.

“Consequently, significant improvement of his eye has been noticed, and his vision returned to almost normal,” the report claimed.

It added that the medical interventions and improvement of his vision suggested that the jail administration made all-out efforts in providing Khan with the best healthcare facilities.