A High Court in Pakistan has rejected the plea to shift incarcerated former Prime Minister of the country, Imran Khan, to a private hospital for his 'eye-treatment', as per media reports. The court has instead ordered the constitution of a medical board to assess the former premier's health.
The decision came on Thursday, from the Islamabad High Court, where a plea seeking transfer of Khan to the Shifa International Hospital in Islamabad, was being heard by the court's division bench comprising Justice Arbab Muhammad Tahir and Justice Khadim Hussain Soomroo.
Khan has been in Adiala Jail of Rawalpindi since August 2023, where he has been diagnosed with central retinal nerve occlusion (CRVO), a serious eye condition, as told to the Supreme Court earlier by Khan's lawyer and the court's amicus curiae, Salman Safdar.
Khan's eye diagnosis comes with risk factors, including high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes and heart disease.
The High Court, in its order today, has observed that the matter relates to the appellant's health, and a medical board should be formed immediately to conduct a fresh examination, notwithstanding earlier medical assessments.
The three-page order by the High Court directed that Dr. Muhammad Arif Khan, head of the ophthalmology department at PIMS Islamabad, and Prof. Dr. Nadeem Qureshi, head of the vitreo-retina department at Al-Shifa Trust Eye Hospital, Rawalpindi, should constitute the medical board and submit findings to Islamabad's Chief Commissioner at the earliest. However, no timeline has been set.
"Based on these recommendations, the Chief Commissioner will decide whether Khan should be transferred to a private hospital or not," the order reads. The bench also observed that the prison authorities were obligated to inform the relatives of a convicted prisoner, in case he/she develops a serious medical condition.
The court noted that the government has the authority to shift a person from prison for special treatment, under the Pakistan Prison Rules, and the Court's jurisdiction under section 561-A of the Criminal Procedure Code cannot be invoked to substitute the executive's powers.
"He (Khan) has already undergone several medical examinations, and has shown improvement, according to a report submitted by the Superintendent of Central Prison Rawalpindi," the order read, "This will be in addition to the earlier measures already undertaken."
Khan's family, meanwhile, have been vocal about the alleged threats to his life in jail. His sisters have said that the Army Chief of the country, General Asim Munir, will be responsible if anything happens to Khan inside the jail.
His sons, who are British citizens, have been seeking visas to Pakistan to be able to meet their father. They, however, have been allowed a phone call with him.
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