The Supreme Court registrar’s office has returned the federal government’s review petition challenging the order to shift PTI founder Imran Khan from Adiala Jail to Shifa International Hospital, citing incomplete paper books.
An informed source said the government may file the review petition again after making amendments and could also challenge the registrar’s objections.
Reacting to the development, PTI Secretary General Salman Akram Raja said the government had withdrawn its review petition following the registrar’s objections. He urged authorities to comply with the Supreme Court’s August 18 order and immediately transfer Imran to Shifa International Hospital.
The Supreme Court had on Tuesday directed the government to shift Imran to the Islamabad hospital within two days for examination and treatment by a multidisciplinary medical board.
A three-member bench headed by Justice Shahid Waheed and comprising Justices Naeem Akhtar Afghan and Ishtiaq Ibrahim issued the interim order while hearing petitions seeking Imran’s hospitalisation, access to personal doctors and family members, and provision of his medical records to his family.
The court also allowed Imran’s personal physician and sister to remain involved in his medical care and directed authorities to facilitate regular family meetings.
The government subsequently approached the Supreme Court seeking review and withdrawal of the order, arguing that the directive was discriminatory and contrary to prison rules and principles of natural justice.
The review petition, filed through Islamabad Chief Commissioner under Article 188 of the Constitution, argued that Rule 197 of the Pakistan Prison Rules, 1978, governing the transfer of prisoners to hospitals, had not been considered by the court.
The government contended that directing the treatment of a convicted prisoner at a private hospital without evidence of an immediate medical emergency could disrupt the criminal justice and prison system.
It also argued that the Constitution guarantees equality before the law and that granting special access to a private hospital could create similar demands from other prisoners.
Government ministers had also questioned the order, with Information Minister Attaullah Tarar saying Imran was already receiving medical facilities under prison rules.
Tarar maintained that healthcare arrangements for the former prime minister would continue in accordance with the jail manual and applicable laws, stressing that medical matters should not be politicised.
