Pakistan's ex-PM Imran taken back to Adiala Jail after undergoing medical check-up at PIMS
- Last updated: August 21, 2026 | 09:54
Former prime minister and Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf (PTI) party founder Imran Khan was transferred back to Adiala Jail early on Friday, hours after being taken to a private hospital for court-ordered medical checks, the government said.
A few hours after his stay in a leading hospital of the federal capital for his check-up shortly after midnight, Imran Khan was driven back to the Adiala Jail Rawalpindi, officials said.
While it was widely reported by all the media outlets that Imran was shifted to the private hospital, Shifa International, and hundreds of print and TV journalists with their several DSNGs were present outside of this medical facility, Information Minister announced in a tweet early on Friday that Imran Khan's medical examination was conducted at the Pakistan Institute of Meidcal Sciences (PIMS). It surprised, if not shocked, all and sundry.
Close to 1,000 policemen were deployed around the Shifa International and no media man had even an iota of doubt that Khan was not taken to this facility.
A heightened security was in place and there was an unprecedented hype for the occasion. Khan's shifting to the hospital complied a clear directive of the Supreme Court that he should be moved to the private hospital for treatment.
The Supreme Court ordered on Tuesday that Imran Khan, Pakistan's most popular politician, be taken to the Shifa International Hospital within 48 hours for treatment, after his lawyers petitioned the court over concerns that his health was poor.
"A team of qualified doctors, including an ophthalmologist, a cardiologist, and a physician, conducted a detailed examination of him and declared him medically fit," Information Minister Attaullah Tarar wrote on X about Imran Khan's health checks. "After the completion of this entire process, he was transferred back to Adiala Jail.
In his post on X, Tarar announced that Imran Khan was taken to the PIMS for a medical examination in the early hours of August 21 in compliance with the Supreme Court's order before being shifted back to Adiala Jail.
Imran Khan was taken to the hospital between the night of August 20 and 21 under "appropriate security arrangements," he said, adding that a team of qualified doctors, including an ophthalmologist, cardiologist and physician, conducted a detailed medical examination and declared Khan "medically fit."
Tarar said that Imran Khan's sister medical doctor Uzma remained present throughout the medical examination and treatment process.
"Imran Khan was taken back to Adiala jail at around 5am on August 21 after the medical examination process was completed."
In another post, the information minister said the medical examination was conducted at the Pims), with doctors from Shifa International Hospital also present. He said that Imran Khan was taken to PIMS due to the security situation "created by PTI workers" on the route to and outside Shifa International Hospital.
The minister's statement came hours after media reports said that Imran Khan underwent a medical examination at Shifa International Hospital in the early hours of Friday. Khan was taken to the Islamabad hospital from Adiala jail's Gate No 1 under heightened security, with police escorting him to the facility.
Hundreds of police, some wielding sticks, were deployed near the hospital late on Thursday, with roads leading to the clinic cordoned off, ahead of the transfer.
Dozens of the 73-year-old's supporters had waited outside the hospital.
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. The next court hearing was set for September 16.
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.
He has since faced multiple legal cases on corruption and other charges, which Khan and his Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf (PTI) party maintain are politically motivated. His arrest triggered nationwide protests in May 2023, some of which turned violent and led to hundreds of arrests.