Pakistan's Supreme Court ordered authorities Tuesday to transfer imprisoned former Prime Minister Imran Khan to a private hospital in the capital for a medical examination, following months of complaints from his family and personal physicians about his health and access to care.
A three-judge panel ordered that Khan be taken to Shifa International Hospital in Islamabad in the coming days. He will be examined by a medical board that includes specialists and one of his personal physicians, Dr. Faisal Sultan. The court also ordered prison officials to allow Khan weekly meetings with family members and telephone calls with his sons.
According to ABC News, Khan's lawyer Salman Akram Raja said the court issued the order because Khan's health was at stake and access to medical care is protected under Pakistan's constitution. Raja also urged Khan's supporters not to gather outside the hospital when he is transported there, saying they should avoid inconveniencing other patients.
Khan has been in prison since 2023 after being convicted in a graft case. He was removed from office in a parliamentary no-confidence vote in April 2022 and has alleged his ouster was the result of a U.S.-backed conspiracy involving political rivals and Pakistan's former army chief, Qamar Javed Bajwa. Washington, Pakistan's military and his political opponents have all denied those allegations.
Khan petitioned the court months ago asking to be transferred from a high-security prison in the garrison city of Rawalpindi to a hospital and to be allowed access to his physicians, family and lawyers. Pakistan barred visitors earlier this year after receiving intelligence reports about a possible attack on the facility where he is being held.
Concerns about Khan's health grew in late January after his family said he had lost about 85% of the vision in his right eye. The government disputed that claim. Authorities later said Khan had regained about 70% of his vision and that his condition was improving. Earlier this year he was repeatedly taken to a government hospital for treatment of the eye condition.
Despite his legal situation, Khan remains a major figure in Pakistani politics and retains a large following inside the country.
