Islamabad, March 12 A high court in Pakistan on Thursday rejected a petition to transfer jailed former prime minister Imran Khan to a private hospital and ordered the constitution of a team of doctors to medically examine him.
Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf filed the petition in the Islamabad High Court (IHC) on March 2 through lawyer Latif Khosa to transfer Khan from Adiala Jail, Rawalpindi, to Shifa International Hospital in Islamabad for treatment of his eyes.
Justices Arbab Muhammad Tahir and Khadim Hussain Soomro heard the case. Khosa presented his arguments while Islamabad Advocate General Ayaz Shaukat and Additional Attorney General Rashid Hafeez appeared on behalf of the government.
Khosa told the court that Khan had been complaining of deteriorating vision in his right eye. Although he was treated at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS), his family and legal team were not informed about his medical process.
After hearing arguments, the court refused to grant the petition to shift Khan to a private hospital. However, it directed Islamabad Chief Commissioner Muhammad Ali Randhawa to constitute a medical board to check Khan.
It ordered that Dr Muhammad Arif, who is the head of the ophthalmology department at PIMS and Dr Nadeem Qureshi, who is a retina specialist from Al-Shifa Eye Hospital, Rawalpindi, be on the board.
Khan is believed to be suffering from a condition in his right eye since last October and is under treatment. According to the government, the condition of his eye as well as his vision has improved following medical interventions.
Khan, 72, has been jailed since August 2023 and is serving a sentence at Adiala Jail in the Al Qadir Trust corruption case. He also faces pending trials under the Anti-Terrorism Act linked to the protest by his party on May 9, 2023.
