Pakistan’s Supreme Court on Tuesday directed authorities to transfer jailed former prime minister Imran Khan to Islamabad’s Shifa International Hospital, after three years in prison.
The court order follows mounting concerns over the state of Pakistan’s prisons, coming a day after the superintendent of the Adiala jail, where Imran Khan has been imprisoned since August 2023, submitted a report to the apex court on the ex-premier’s health condition, according to the Dawn report.
The order for a health evaluation came following growing concerns over Imran Khan’s medical condition, according to a report by The Dawn. In a post on social media platform X, Alvi expressed grave concern over Khan’s anxiety, high blood pressure and an elevated heart rate of 54 beats per minute, warning that “isolation is taking a physical toll on his body” and urging an immediate transfer to a hospital under an independent panel of doctors. Former Pakistan President Arif Alvi claimed on Tuesday that the imprisoned leader’s medical reports were deeply alarming.
The denial of medical transparency has triggered widespread unrest, with supporters of Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) staging nationwide demonstrations demanding the immediate release of the party founder and his spouse, Bushra Bibi. Incarcerated since 2023 on what his aides maintain are politically motivated charges, Khan was effectively barred, alongside his party leadership, from participating in the 2024 general elections.
The state’s heavy-handed tactics stem from a prolonged political crackdown following Khan’s ouster via a parliamentary no-confidence vote in 2022.
