The development came after a three-member bench, headed by Justice Shahid Waheed, directed the government on Tuesday to move Imran to Shifa International Hospital for examination and treatment by a multidisciplinary medical board after his party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), had filed a petition seeking his hospitalisation on the basis of his deteriorating health.
Imran, 73, was moved instead to the state-run Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) in Islamabad under strict security arrangements. Although initially it was thought his stay might be a longer one, he was taken back to jail early on Friday morning.
“In the light of the Supreme Court’s order, the prisoner was taken to the hospital under appropriate security arrangements during the night between August 20 and 21,” the government’s information minister Attaullah Tarar said in a post on ‘X’. “A team of qualified doctors, including an ophthalmologist, a cardiologist, and a physician, conducted a detailed examination of him and declared him medically fit. After the completion of this entire process, he was shifted back to Adiala jail on the morning of August 21 at approximately 5am”.
Tarar said Imran was taken to PIMS and not Shifa International – a private hospital – because of security reasons.
The government had initially sought to review the bench’s order to allow Imran to go to hospital but the Supreme Court registrar’s office returned the government petition citing incomplete paperwork. The government contends that allowing Imran to receive treatment at a private hospital of his choosing would be discriminatory.
Imran’s party and lawyers have raised concerns about his health since February this year. At one point, the party claimed he had 15% vision in his right eye after he developed a condition that had been neglected in jail. He was eventually taken to PIMS several times for short visits.
Imran has been incarcerated in Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi since August 2023, serving various prison sentences on corruption charges which he and his party deny.
*This story has been updated to include a government statement confirming Imran Khan’s return to jail
