ISLAMABAD: Former prime minister Imran Khan on Monday approached the Supreme Court seeking directions his transfer to Islamabad’s Shifa International Hospital, access to his personal physicians, family and counsel, and provision of his medical details to the family.
A similar petition was earlier moved before the SC by his sister Dr Uzma Khan who challenged the Islamabad High Court (IHC) ruling to refuse these facilities.
In the fresh petition, filed by senior counsel Uzair Karamat Bhandari, the ex-premier urged the apex court to grant leave to appeal against the March 12 order of the IHC.
While pleading to convert his petition into appeal, Mr Khan sought court order for arrangement of his medical examination by physicians of his choice, including Dr Khurram Mirza, Dr Asim Yusuf, Dr Faisal Sultan and Dr Samina Niazi on an immediate basis; his immediate transfer to Shifa International Hospital, Islamabad, for complete medical examination and treatment; besides the provision of continued access to his physicians, family members and counsel during his incarceration and treatment.
PTI founder, spouse challenge court order for early conclusion of arguments in appeals against decision in £190m graft case
The SC was further requested to order the provision of complete medical record of the petitioner, including but not limited to eye examination reports, diagnostic reports, and blood reports, over the last four months, and direct relevant officials to keep the family, physicians and counsel in the loop during all medical treatments and procedures.
According to the petition, Mr Khan has suffered serious deterioration in his right eye. A report submitted to the SC by amicus curiae Salman Safdar in February stated that he retains only 15 per cent vision in his right eye after being diagnosed with central retinal vein occlusion — a blood clot condition. The petitioner repeatedly reported his blurred vision to the then jail superintendent three to four months prior to October 2025, but no timely action was taken, the petition quoted the amicus report. “Only eye drops were administered for nearly three months, followed by a major and irreversible impairment,” it added.
The petition warns that the underlying blood clot could potentially travel to the heart or brain, posing life-threatening risks that require continuous monitoring unavailable inside the prison.
Time bar challenged
Counsel for the incarcerated Mr Khan and his wife, Bushra Bibi, have challenged a high court order for setting a deadline to conclude arguments in their appeals against a corruption conviction, labelling the time limit unjust.
Barrister Salman Safdar filed two separate petitions on behalf of the couple before the IHC, contending that the court’s April 30 order imposing a time limit to conclude arguments was “harsh, unjustified and unfair” considering the circumstances of the case.
The challenge is the fresh development in the £190 million case, also known as the Al-Qadir Trust case, in which the PTI leader is serving a 14-year sentence.
Mr Khan has also been imprisoned since Aug 5, 2023, for a separate conviction on charges of concealing details of state gifts.
An accountability court in Islamabad convicted Mr Khan and Bushra Bibi on Jan 31, 2024, sentencing them to 14 and seven years in prison, respectively.
Both subsequently challenged their convictions before the IHC. In May, the high court rejected their petitions to suspend their sentences, noting that their main appeals were already scheduled for a hearing.
The new petitions filed by their counsel argued that the defence had “not sought to delay the proceedings”.
The documents stated that the defence team had filed no application for an adjournment for over a month before the court’s order and that the first request for a postponement was made on May 7 for a “genuine reason”.
The petitions argued that the couple, being directly affected by the April 30 order, had a legal right to challenge that decision before the SC.
In separate applications, Mr Safdar also raised grievances regarding the alleged denial of access to his clients in jail and hurdles in obtaining signed powers of attorney for filing appeals before the apex court.
According to the applications, the jail authorities were refusing to facilitate the signing of the vakalatnamas and power of attorney documents required to challenge the April 30 order before the SC.
The counsel pleaded before the IHC to direct jail authorities to immediately arrange meetings with the PTI founder and Bushra Bibi and ensure the signing of the powers of attorney so that the appeals could be filed without further delay.
The case alleges that the couple obtained billions of rupees and land worth hundreds of kanals from Bahria Town Ltd to legalise Rs50bn identified and returned to the country by the UK during the PTI government.
Ex-CM’s arrest warrants
In a separate audio leak case, a local court issued arrest warrants for KP former chief minister, Ali Amin Gandapur, ordering the police to arrest him and produce him before the court.
Additional District and Sessions Judge Nasruminallah Baloch, while hearing the case registered against Mr Gandapur at Golra police station, rejected his application seeking exemption from personal appearance.
The court observed that statements of prosecution witnesses could not be recorded due to his repeated non-appearance and summoned the prosecution witnesses again for the next hearing scheduled for June 17.
The case pertains to an alleged audio leak in which Mr Gandapur could purportedly be heard using derogatory language against the federal coalition and hurling threats at government officials, as well as inciting people against the government.
Published in Dawn, May 19th, 2026
