The Supreme Court of Pakistan on Tuesday ordered that jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan be shifted from Rawalpindi’s Adiala Jail to Shifa International Hospital in Islamabad for specialized medical treatment. Hearing a petition filed by his legal team over his deteriorating health and lack of proper healthcare behind bars, a three-member bench led by Justice Shahid Waheed directed authorities to transfer the 73-year-old PTI founder to the capital's premier private facility within 48 hours. The court also ordered that weekly visits from his family and lawyers continue without disruption.
The bench instructed that a comprehensive medical board oversee Khan’s diagnosis and care, specifically mandating the inclusion of his personal physician and his sister, Dr. Uzma Khan. The move fulfills a long-standing demand by Khan’s family and the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, who have consistently questioned the adequacy and impartiality of routine checkups inside the prison. Welcoming the ruling, PTI leaders noted that while the decision comes after months of unnecessary delay, the former prime minister must now remain hospitalized until specialists are fully satisfied with his recovery.
Khan has been in custody since August 2023 following his arrest from his Lahore residence. Over the last three years, the cricketer-turned-politician has faced a wave of cases spanning the Toshakhana gift controversy, the Al-Qadir Trust case, the cipher trial, and various other charges. While Khan and his defence team have repeatedly labeled the prosecutions as a political witch-hunt following his April 2022 ouster, the prolonged confinement and harsh jail conditions have caused a sharp decline in his physical health.
Anxiety around Khan’s condition peaked recently when his family and doctors revealed serious complications with his vision. Medical assessments confirmed he had developed central retinal vein occlusion in his right eye, a condition caused by a blockage in retinal blood vessels that leads to substantial sight loss. His personal physicians, Dr. Aasim Yusuf and Dr. Faisal Sultan, warned that Khan had already lost a significant portion of vision in that eye and urgently required the attention of senior retina specialists in a fully equipped hospital rather than ad-hoc evaluations in a prison cell.
Healthcare access for the former premier has remained a major flashpoint between PTI and the ruling coalition. Khan’s sisters, Aleema Khanum and Noreen Khanum, alongside party workers, held several protests rejecting state-appointed medical panels that excluded trusted independent doctors, arguing that denying proper care to a former head of government amounted to blatant political victimization.
The top court's order to keep Khan at Shifa International Hospital until mid-September brings major relief to his family and followers. As authorities prepare for the high-security transit to Islamabad, security agencies are expected to put strict cordons in place around the hospital to manage crowds. The coming days will be crucial as the reconstituted medical board begins its evaluations, giving the first clear, independent picture of Imran Khan’s overall health and the treatment required for his recovery.