Imran Khan moves Supreme Court for hospital transfer

ISLAMABAD: Former prime minister Imran Khan on Monday approached the Supreme Court, seeking orders for his transfer to Islamabad’s Shifa International Hospital, access to doctors of his choice, meetings with family members and legal counsel, and the sharing of his medical records with his family.

The fresh petition, filed through senior counsel Uzair Karamat Bhandari, asks the apex court to grant leave to appeal against the Islamabad High Court’s March 12 order, which had declined similar relief. A comparable petition had earlier been filed before the Supreme Court by his sister, Dr Uzma Khan, challenging the same high court ruling.

In his latest plea, Mr Khan requested that his petition be converted into an appeal and sought immediate arrangements for a medical examination by physicians of his choosing, including Dr Khurram Mirza, Dr Asim Yusuf, Dr Faisal Sultan and Dr Samina Niazi. He also asked the court to order his immediate transfer to Shifa International Hospital for a full medical examination and treatment, along with continued access to his doctors, family and counsel during incarceration and treatment.

The petition further requested the Supreme Court to direct the authorities to provide his complete medical record for the past four months, including eye examination reports, diagnostic reports and blood reports, and to ensure that his family, physicians and lawyers are kept informed about all medical procedures and treatment.

Health concerns cited in petition

According to the petition, Mr Khan’s right eye condition has worsened significantly. It referred to a report submitted to the Supreme Court in February by amicus curiae Salman Safdar, which stated that he retained only 15 per cent vision in his right eye after being diagnosed with central retinal vein occlusion, described as a blood clot condition.

The petition said Mr Khan had repeatedly complained of blurred vision to the then jail superintendent three to four months before October 2025, but timely action was not taken.

"Only eye drops were administered for nearly three months, followed by a major and irreversible impairment," it added.

The plea also warned that the underlying blood clot could move to the heart or brain, creating life-threatening risks that, according to the petition, require continuous monitoring not available inside prison.

Challenge to deadline in £190m case appeals

In a separate development, counsel for Mr Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi challenged a high court order that set a deadline for concluding arguments in their appeals against convictions in the £190 million corruption case, describing the time restriction as harsh, unjustified and unfair.

Barrister Salman Safdar filed two separate petitions before the Islamabad High Court against the court’s April 30 order. The challenge marks a fresh development in the Al-Qadir Trust case, in which the PTI founder is serving a 14-year sentence. Mr Khan has also remained imprisoned since Aug 5, 2023, in a separate case related to concealing details of state gifts.

An accountability court in Islamabad had convicted Mr Khan and Bushra Bibi on Jan 31, 2024, sentencing them to 14 years and seven years in prison, respectively. Both later challenged their convictions before the Islamabad High Court. In May, the high court dismissed their requests for suspension of sentence, observing that their main appeals were already fixed for hearing.

The new petitions stated that the defence had not sought to delay proceedings. According to the documents, no application for adjournment had been filed by the defence for more than a month before the court’s order, and the first request for postponement was made on May 7 for what was described as a genuine reason.

The petitions argued that, as persons directly affected by the April 30 order, Mr Khan and Bushra Bibi had the legal right to challenge that decision before the Supreme Court.

In separate applications, Barrister Safdar also complained of difficulties in obtaining access to his clients in jail and in securing signed powers of attorney needed for filing appeals before the apex court. According to the applications, jail authorities were not facilitating the signing of vakalatnamas and power of attorney documents required to challenge the April 30 order before the Supreme Court.

The counsel asked the Islamabad High Court to direct prison authorities to immediately arrange meetings with the PTI founder and Bushra Bibi and ensure the signing of the documents so that the appeals could be filed without further delay.

The £190 million case alleges that the couple received billions of rupees and land measuring hundreds of kanals from Bahria Town Ltd in return for legalising Rs50bn that had been identified and returned to Pakistan by the United Kingdom during the PTI government.

Arrest warrants for Ali Amin Gandapur

Separately, a local court issued arrest warrants for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa former chief minister Ali Amin Gandapur in an audio leak case and directed police to arrest him and produce him before the court.

Additional District and Sessions Judge Nasruminallah Baloch, hearing the case registered at Golra police station, rejected Mr Gandapur’s application seeking exemption from personal appearance. The court observed that prosecution witnesses’ statements could not be recorded because of his repeated absence and summoned the witnesses again for the next hearing on June 17.

The case concerns an alleged audio leak in which Mr Gandapur could purportedly be heard using derogatory language against the federal coalition, threatening government officials and inciting people against the government.