The Supreme Court’s Registrar’s Office declined to accept a review petition on Thursday that the federal government had filed against the court’s earlier directive to move former prime minister Imran Khan to Shifa International Hospital in Islamabad for medical care.
Sources familiar with the matter said the registrar raised procedural objections to the plea, which had been submitted by the Islamabad chief commissioner. The petition will need to be refiled once those objections are addressed.
The setback arrived just a day after the government first approached the apex court seeking a review of its ruling ordering Khan’s transfer from Adiala jail to the private medical facility. The advocate general for the Islamabad Capital Territory filed the original petition on behalf of the chief commissioner.
Khan, 73, has been incarcerated since August 2023 on convictions that he and his party maintain were politically driven. His legal troubles multiplied after parliament removed him from office through a no-confidence vote in April 2022.
Government’s Case Against the Hospital Transfer
In its petition, the federal government argued that the Supreme Court’s August 18 interim order calling for Khan’s hospital transfer went beyond what the court was authorized to decide, and that this warranted a formal review.
The filing suggested the bench had overlooked a relevant statutory provision, arguing that awareness of this provision would have prevented the original order from being issued in the first place.
According to the petition, an Additional Sessions Judge had sentenced Khan to three years in prison on August 5, 2023, a ruling he subsequently challenged before the Islamabad High Court. His request to be treated at Shifa International Hospital was turned down by the IHC on March 12, prompting him to escalate the matter to the Supreme Court.
The government also pointed to Rule 197 of the Pakistan Prison Rules, 1978, which lays out the process for moving inmates from jail facilities to hospitals, noting that any prisoner relocated for treatment must stay under police watch throughout.
The petition additionally claimed that when the case reached the Supreme Court for the first time, no notices had been issued to the parties involved, raising due process concerns under Article 10A of the Constitution, which guarantees the right to fair trial. It argued that the criminal appeal had been scheduled for a first hearing without any formal notice or grant of leave to appeal, a procedural gap flagged by the law officer present at the hearing.
The filing further noted that Khan had undergone routine medical checkups in the past and had already been evaluated and treated by medical boards on multiple occasions. It contended that the court ought to have consulted medical experts before ordering the transfer on health-related grounds.
What the Supreme Court Originally Ordered
The Supreme Court’s ruling, issued Tuesday, directed Adiala jail officials to move the PTI founder to Shifa hospital for assessment and treatment within 48 hours, a deadline that expired Thursday.
The order also called for forming a medical board to evaluate and treat Khan, with instructions that Dr Uzma and his personal physician be present during the process. His family was ordered to cover the associated costs.
Authorities were told to carry out the transfer under heightened security and finalize all necessary arrangements promptly. The court cautioned that failing to comply with its instructions could lead to the withdrawal of privileges currently extended to Khan.
PTI welcomed the court’s decision following the ruling and asked its supporters to refrain from congregating near the hospital.