Pakistan’s former Prime Minister Imran Khan was moved back to prison early on Friday after being examined by doctors at a hospital in Islamabad, who deemed him “medically fit”. Khan was seen by “a team of qualified doctors” including an ophthalmologist, a cardiologist and a physician, Pakistan’s Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said.
The Supreme Court had on Tuesday ordered the cricketer-turned-politician be taken to a specific private hospital within 48 hours to be examined by physicians, following complaints about his health.
He was ultimately taken to a different government-run hospital.
The intervention was the most significant relief Khan has received from the courts since he was imprisoned in 2023 on corruption charges, which he says were politically motivated.
As well as being transferred to hospital, the court order also specified Khan should be allowed to see his family, which he has not been able to do in months. On Tuesday night, his sister Noreen Khan visited him in prison.
His other sister Dr. Uzma Khan accompanied him during the hospital visit last night. She was present throughout all stages of the medical examination overnight on Thursday, Tarar said.
Khan was meant to be sent to the private Shifa Interational Hospital in Islamabad, according to the Supreme Court order.
The area around it was sealed off with barriers, with officers and police vans in place. Outside, the BBC saw cars being moved with a truck to clear the street while police cars and armoured vehicles patrolled.
Some PTI activists had gathered along the route and near the hospital, despite warnings from the court and party leaders not to.
But Tarar later confirmed Khan had not been taken there and was instead driven to the government-run Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) hospital. A senior police official told the BBC the security presence outside Shifa was a decoy.
Tarar said the change had been made due to the “security situation created by PTI workers”.
The PTI’s Information Secretary Sheikh Waqas Akram asked: “Was the court order implemented in its true spirit, or was it merely a superficial exercise for propaganda?”
Khan’s lawyers have said he is suffering from various health conditions, including poor eyesight, and has been unable to access specialist medical care.
In February, the 73-year-old’s lawyer said his client had 15% vision left in his right eye after prison authorities failed to take action – an allegation the government disputed.
In Tuesday’s court order, the panel wrote: “We are mindful of the constitutional and legal obligation… to safeguard the life, health, dignity and security of the prisoner.”
Judges said an eye specialist would be involved in Khan’s hospital treatment.
Khan, who previously captained the Pakistan national cricket team, served as the country’s prime minister from 2018 to 2022.
He was imprisoned in August 2023 and has faced charges in more than 100 cases, ranging from leaking state secrets to selling state gifts – all of which he decried as politically motivated.
Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi were both sentenced to 17 years late last year.
His jailing triggered large-scale protests by supporters, which were met with a crackdown by authorities.
Despite his jailing, Khan remains a significant presence in Pakistani politics with a large number of supporters.
By BBC News
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