The Pakistani government challenged on Wednesday a Supreme Court (SC) order to move jailed former prime minister Imran Khan to a private hospital, a petition filed with the court showed.
The move could dash the hopes of Imran Khan's party and family, who have been calling for him to be given access to healthcare and visitation rights, and also spark public discontent over the treatment of the hugely popular cricketer-turned-politician.
Imran Khan, 73, has been in jail in the garrison city of Rawalpindi since August 2023, convicted in a string of cases that he says were politically driven.
The Supreme Court order, seen by Reuters, had on Tuesday directed the government to move Khan to the private Shifa International Hospital in the capital Islamabad within two days. It also specified that he be given access to his personal physician.
"This order is not within four walls of the law," Pakistan's Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar said in a video-recorded statement issued on Tuesday night.
In its petition, the government said moving a convicted felon to a private hospital based "on a report which does not disclose any condition requiring immediate medical treatment will severely disturb the whole criminal justice system."
"If the interim order is not recalled it will open a flood gate of prisoners seeking similar relief, which under the prevalent law cannot be granted," it added. Khan's sons have repeatedly expressed concern regarding his deteriorating health, while his lawyers have said he has lost significant vision in his right eye while in prison.
The petition stated that Imran was sentenced to three years in prison by an Additional Sessions Judge on Aug.5, 2023. He later filed an appeal against the sentence before the Islamabad High Court (IHC).
The plea maintained that the former premier requested to be shifted to Shifa International Hospital for treatment, but the IHC rejected the request on March 12, after which an appeal was filed before the Supreme Court.
The review argued that, in certain cases, approval from the government and action through the Inspector General of Prisons are required for shifting a prisoner to a hospital.
It said that prisoners transferred to hospitals must remain under police supervision. It also referred to Rule 197 of the Pakistan Prison Rules, 1978, which sets out the procedure for transferring a prisoner from jail to a hospital.
The government also argued that Article 10A of the Constitution provides the right to a fair trial and due process of law. It said the matter came before the Supreme Court for the first time, and notices were not issued to the relevant parties.
10A of the Constitution guarantees the right to a fair trial and due process, the review application said, and added that due process encompasses fair notice of hearing to both the parties. In the instant case, the criminal appeal was fixed for the first time and as such no notice of hearing has been issued by the bench nor leave to appeal has been granted by the court. The petition itself raised serious questions as to its maintainability, which issue was raised by the law officer present in court.
The petition read that Imran had been regularly medically examined in the past and had received treatment from medical boards on several occasions. It argued that the court should have sought the opinion of medical experts before deciding on his transfer on health grounds.
In its decision, the apex court had ordered the constitution of a medical board to assess and treat Imran Khan. It ordered that Imranan’s sister Dr Uzma and personal physician be present during his medical assessment and treatment, with his family to bear the expenses.
His Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf (PTI) party has welcomed the order, saying it should be implemented "immediately, fully, and without delay.”
ALL THAT MATTERED
The court order also directed the authorities to ensure a telephone call twice a week between Khan and his two sons, who live in London. His younger son, Kasim, said his health was "all that mattered."
"We hope the government adheres to the court orders...allows calls and issues our visas to Pakistan simply so we can come and see him," he said in a statement shared with Reuters.
Kasim and his older brother Sulaiman - raised in Britain after Khan's divorce from their mother, British socialite and filmmaker Jemima Goldsmith - have not seen their father since 2022 in the absence of a visa.
Since he lost power in a parliamentary no-confidence vote, Khan has faced multiple cases, including over state gifts, instigating violent attacks on military and state installations, and an accusation of an unlawful marriage.
All convictions but one have been suspended or overturned, with appeals pending. He denies wrongdoing.
PTI won power in 2018 and retains a large support base across key provinces but was stripped of its election symbol ahead of elections in 2024.
Its candidates, who were forced to contest as independents, won the most seats in the election but fell short of the majority needed to form a government.