Pakistan government to challenge court on moving Imran Khan to private hospital

Pakistan’s government will challenge the Supreme Court’s order to move jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan to a private hospital for medical checks, the law minister said late Tuesday.

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The ruling “does not fall within the four corners of the law”, Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar said in a video statement shared on X by State broadcaster Radio Pakistan.

The government was submitting a petition for a review that would call for 73-year-old Khan’s medical tests to be conducted at a government hospital, instead of a private facility as the court had ordered.

“Until such time as evidence or material is available to show that government hospitals are unable to provide this type of treatment or cannot do so, such arrangements are normally not made,” Mr. Tarar said.

The three-Bench court decided Tuesday (August 18) that the ex-cricket captain would be moved “within the next two days” to Shifa International Hospital in the capital Islamabad.

He would also be allowed to meet with his family once a week and speak to his sons via telephone twice weekly, the court order stated.

Khan’s personal physician Faisal Sultan, and sister and medical doctor Uzma Khan, “shall be permitted to remain associated with the prisoner’s medical examination and treatment”.

The judges warned against public gatherings within the hospital grounds or the use of information about Khan’s health for political gain, cautioning any breaches could lead to the order being reversed.

The next hearing was set for September 16.

Khan and his wife, Bushra Bibi, were sentenced late last year to 17 years behind bars after being charged with a slew of crimes.

He insists the charges were politically motivated.

The former Prime Minister received eye treatment at a hospital this year, with his family and lawyer saying at the time that he had lost most of the vision in his right eye.

Khan was Prime Minister from 2018 to 2022 before being removed in a no-confidence vote during a political crisis over tensions between his government and the powerful military establishment.

His arrest triggered nationwide protests in May 2023.