The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) approached the Supreme Court on Saturday with a contempt petition, alleging that authorities disregarded the court’s directive on transferring party founder Imran Khan to a designated hospital for treatment.
Through the petition, PTI has asked the court to open contempt proceedings against the officials it holds responsible, along with issuing show-cause notices and summoning them to appear in person.
The plea was submitted on the party’s behalf by PTI Secretary-General Salman Akram Raja together with Uzair Bhandari.
Background of the Supreme Court Order
On August 18, the apex court had instructed authorities to shift the former prime minister to Shifa International Hospital in Islamabad for a medical checkup. Instead, he was reportedly moved to the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims), a decision Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said involved doctors from Shifa International Hospital being brought in to attend to him there.
This discrepancy became the basis for PTI’s accusation that the government had breached the top court’s ruling. PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan maintained that the court’s instructions left no room for interpretation, insisting the transfer was meant to happen at the named facility and nowhere else.
What the Contempt Petition Demands
In the filing, PTI has urged the court to hold the named respondents in contempt and impose penalties as permitted under the law. The party has additionally asked for Imran Khan’s prompt transfer to Shifa International Hospital so the medical examination can be carried out as originally ordered.
To ensure compliance going forward, PTI has requested that the court appoint a judicial officer or set up a local commission tasked with monitoring implementation of its directive.
Those named as respondents include Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar, and Information Minister Attaullah Tarar.
Government’s Version of Events
Speaking a day earlier, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said Imran Khan was escorted to hospital overnight between August 20 and 21 under tightened security. He noted that Khan was returned to Adiala jail by around 5am on August 21 once the checkup had concluded.
Tarar explained that the decision to take Khan to Pims rather than Shifa stemmed from security concerns linked to PTI supporters gathering along the route and near the hospital.
Separately, Pims administration confirmed that two specialists from Shifa International Hospital took part in Khan’s eye examination, while the rest of the medical evaluation was handled by Pims’ own specialists. The hospital said it would not release details from the medical report, citing both patient confidentiality and the Supreme Court’s own instructions on the matter.
PTI Defends Timing of the Petition
Addressing reporters in Islamabad after the petition was filed, Salman Akram Raja reiterated that the Supreme Court’s order left no ambiguity about Khan’s transfer to Shifa International Hospital.
He also pushed back against suggestions that filing the petition sooner would have led to a faster hearing. “It is incorrect that if we had filed the petition yesterday, it would have been listed yesterday,” Raja said, adding that the same delay would apply regardless of when the plea was submitted, since courts don’t typically take up a case within an hour of it being filed.
Raja explained that petitions go through a standard scrutiny process before being scheduled for hearing, noting that only a special directive from the court itself could result in an expedited hearing.