Pakistan court issues notice on Imran Khan’s hospital transfer plea

A Pakistani court issued on Tuesday notice to the state on a plea seeking the transfer of former prime minister Imran Khan to a private hospital for medical treatment.

The Islamabad High Court (IHC) was hearing a miscellaneous application filed by Khan’s party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), requesting that the incarcerated leader be shifted to Shifa International Hospital for specialised eye treatment.

PTI alleged that jail authorities had been conducting medical examinations in secrecy and limiting access to his personal physicians. The government has denied any wrongdoing.

Khan, who has been in custody since August 2023 in multiple cases, was diagnosed in late January with right central retinal vein occlusion (CRVO) after reporting partial vision loss in his right eye.

According to medical reports cited in court, his unaided vision measured 6/24 in the right eye and 6/9 in the left, improving with corrective lenses to 6/9 and 6/6, respectively.

He underwent an initial procedure on January 24, which the government confirmed five days later, and attended a follow-up examination at Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) on February 24. His family and party leaders have criticized the handling of his treatment, saying they were not notified in advance and that his personal doctors were restricted from access.

A two-member bench comprising Justice Arbab Muhammad Tahir and Justice Khadim Hussain Soomro heard the plea along with objections raised by the registrar’s office.

During the proceedings, Justice Tahir said preparation of the paper book would take two to three days and directed that the main appeal be fixed for hearing next week. The bench scheduled the Toshakhana criminal case for March 10.

Khan’s counsel, Latif Khosa, urged the court to take up the hospital transfer request at the earliest, but the registrar’s office informed the bench that objections had been raised, including the absence of a certified copy of the power of attorney.

Justice Tahir said two objections were valid and instructed that the application be assigned a regular number once they were addressed.

The court also questioned why arguments had not proceeded on the main appeal. Khosa responded that the defense was ready and requested an early hearing, adding that Khan’s sentence in the case had already been suspended. The bench said it could hear both the appeal and the transfer application together before adjourning the proceedings until March 10.