Former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan was transported from Adiala jail to Shifa International Hospital in Islamabad on a heavily‑guarded convoy after a three‑judge panel of the Supreme Court issued an order demanding urgent medical scrutiny of the 73‑year‑old political figure.
Khan’s lawyers claim he has been suffering from multiple health problems—including severely diminished vision in one eye—and has been denied specialist medical attention while incarcerated. In February, his counsel pleaded that Khan had retained only 15% vision in his right eye, a figure the government disputes but one that prompted the court’s intervention.
The Court’s ruling emphasised its duty to protect a prisoner’s life, health, dignity and security, explicitly directing an eye specialist to oversee the treatment. Among the procedural conditions, the judges warned members of the PTI party and supporters that gathering outside the hospital would constitute a breach of the order.
Khan, who led Pakistan’s national cricket team before ascending to the premiership in 2018, has faced over a hundred cases since August 2023 ranging from alleged state secret leaks to accusations of selling state gifts—charges he blames on political motives. Despite his imprisonment, he remains a key figure in Pakistan’s political landscape, with his supporters organising significant protests that the authorities have largely suppressed.
