SC orders moving jailed ex-PM Imran Khan to Shifa Hospital for medical checkup

The Supreme Court directed the relevant authorities on Tuesday to shift jailed PTI founder Imran Khan to Islamabad’s Shifa International hospital for medical checkup. A three-member SC bench, headed by Justice Shahid Wahid and comprising Justice Naeem Akhtar Afghan and Justice Ishtiaq Ibrahim, issued the ruling on Imran’s petition for his hospitalisation. The court also ordered to ensure his weekly meetings with his family members. The court further directed the formation of a medical board with which Imran’s personal physician and his sister, Dr Uzma Khan, are to remain associated. Moreover, Imran’s lawyers and family members were instructed not to share his medical reports with the media or politicise the matter. The ruling came a day after the superintendent of the Adiala jail — where Imran is imprisoned since Aug 2023 — submitted a report to the SC on the ex-premier’s health condition. According to the report, the jail administration said adequate healthcare facilities were being provided to the couple, with their health and well-being a priority. Medical officers visit Imran Khan thrice a day, checking his meals and recording his blood pressure, heart rate and oxygen saturation. However, an annexure to the report stated that Dr Akhtar Ali Bandeshah of Pims examined him on Aug 1 and noted complaints of uncontrolled and fluctuating blood pressure, palpitations, headache and restlessness. The ex-premier attributed his symptoms and stress partly to infrequent meetings with his wife, family and social contacts, as well as the absence of newspapers and TV. The doctor recommended measures to reduce mental stress, including more frequent meetings with his wife and access to reading material. He also recommended CT coronary angiography and an increase in BP medication, noting that the 74-year-old PTI leader faced a risk of complications. On Aug 10, the SC was informed, a medical board comprising Pims specialists examined him after he complained of heaviness in the head and palpitations. It recommended a one-hour daily walk and relaxation in his prison routine, besides access to newspapers, magazines, television and books. The board also recommended more frequent interaction with immediate family members or his spouse, saying this could help control his anxiety and blood pressure. The report also cited his treatment for an eye condition at Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims) in Islamabad and said his vision had almost returned to normal after intervention by senior ophthalmologists. Imran has been taken to Pims for eye treatment multiple times after his eye ailment — right central retinal vein occlusion (CRVO) — came to light in late January. Meanwhile, the PTI and the government have been engaged in a blame game, with the latter accusing the former of a lack of transparency in not ensuring appropriate treatment for Imran. For its part, the opposition had been demanding that the former premier be shifted to Shifa International Hospital, be treated in the presence of his personal physicians and allowed to meet his family. More to follow