PTI moves IHC seeking transfer of Imran to hospital amid health concerns

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) was moved on Monday with a plea seeking the immediate shifting of incarcerated PTI founder Imran Khan to Shifa International Hospital for specialised eye treatment, alleging that jail authorities have been conducting medical examinations in complete secrecy.

A similar plea was submitted in the Supreme Court on February 25, following Imran undergoing a government-facilitated follow-up treatment for his eye ailment.

Monday’s criminal miscellaneous application was filed under Section 561-A CrPC by senior counsel Sardar Latif Khosa.

The petition claimed that Imran — now 73 years old and incarcerated since August 2023 — has been left with only approximately 15 per cent vision in his right eye.

The application cites a report submitted to the SC by amicus curiae Barrister Salman Safdar, which confirmed that despite the petitioner’s repeated complaints of “blurred and hazardous vision,” no timely or adequate medical intervention was undertaken by jail authorities, ultimately resulting in complete loss of vision in one eye.

The petition expresses alarm over a medical check-up conducted inside Central Jail, Rawalpindi, on February 15, which was carried out in the “complete absence” of Imran’s family members, personal doctors, or legal representatives. No prior intimation was given to them regarding the examination, it maintains.

Imran was subsequently taken to the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) on Feb 23 for further procedures, once again excluding his personal physicians, Dr Faisal Sultan and Dr Asim Yousaf, as well as his family members and lawyers.

“Nothing is known regarding the outcome of the petitioner’s medical examination and or procedures conducted in PIMS hospital. Such secrecy is mindboggling and not acceptable on any hypothesis,” the application states.

The petition notes that the authorities’ continued insistence on treating Imran at PIMS, where no retina specialist is available, coupled with the persistent exclusion of his family and personal doctors from information concerning his health, “has created unavoidable doubts”.

It further reveals that Imran’s family has been denied access for the past four to five months, despite jail rules permitting such meetings. When his sisters approached authorities, they were turned away, the application alleges.

The matter initially came before the SC, which, through an order dated Feb 12, 2026, adjourned the petitions sine die and directed that if the petitioner had any grievance, “the appropriate course will be to first approach the high court, where his appeal is pending.”

Following these directions, the present application has been filed in the IHC, where Imran’s appeal against his trial court conviction remains pending.

The petition also seeks permission for his personal physicians, Dr Faisal Sultan and Dr Asim Yousaf, to be involved with all procedures of examination and treatment.

Additionally, the application prays that Imran’s family members be duly informed and granted reasonable access during his medical check-ups and treatment.

It further requests that attested copies of all medical reports be provided to his lawyers, who should be granted reasonable access to their client for updated instructions.

Imran’s health, who is imprisoned at Rawalpindi’s Adiala jail, has been garnering attention in recent weeks, with his family and party raising concerns since his eye ailment — right central retinal vein occlusion (CRVO) — came to light in late January.