Imran Khan’s sister moves SC for early hearing on contempt plea over hospital transfer

• Uzma alleges August 18 order faced deliberate non-compliance.
• Petitioner seeks Imran’s transfer to Shifa International Hospital.
• Plea contends Imran’s transfer to Pims violates court directions.

ISLAMABAD: Uzma Khan, sister of incarcerated Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf founder Imran Khan, has filed a fresh plea before the Supreme Court, seeking an urgent hearing of a contempt petition concerning his transfer to hospital.

The plea came after the top court scheduled the contempt petition for hearing on September 16 before a three-member bench comprising Justice Shahid Waheed, Justice Naeem Akhtar Afghan and Justice Shakil Ahmed.

In her application, Uzma said Imran’s health was deteriorating in jail and described the matter concerning his health and life as extremely important.

She contended that the Supreme Court’s August 18 order was deliberately not implemented in its true spirit and that Imran was taken to the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims) in violation of the court’s directions for his transfer to Shifa International Hospital.

The petitioner sought the former premier’s transfer to Shifa International Hospital for medical examination and treatment, as directed by the Supreme Court.

It urged the court to ensure immediate and complete implementation of its August 18 order, arguing that continued failure to comply with a judicial directive amounts to intentional and blatant violation of the law.

The plea further argued that the court’s case-fixation policy should not prevent an urgent hearing of the contempt petition, given the seriousness of the ex-PM’s health.

The registrar’s office had earlier rejected an application seeking an urgent hearing on August 25, according to the plea.

Uzma has now requested that the contempt petition be fixed for hearing during the current week or, alternatively, the next week.

She has also asked the court to reconsider its decision to fix the matter for September 16 and schedule it for an earlier date.

Pims visit

The Supreme Court, in its August 18 order, had directed the authorities to transfer the former premier, incarcerated at Adiala Jail, to Shifa International Hospital for a medical examination.

However, he was instead taken to the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims), where doctors from Shifa International Hospital were also present, according to Information Minister Attaullah Tarar.

Khan has remained in prison since August 2023 following convictions he and his party describe as politically motivated. Since his ouster in April 2022 following a no-confidence vote, he has faced multiple legal cases.

A day after the August 18 order, the federal government filed a review petition against it in the Supreme Court. However, it was returned by the registrar’s office with objections.

The Islamabad chief commissioner later filed another petition seeking an early hearing of the review petition against the court’s order.

While the PTI decried violation of the court’s order regarding the party founder’s transfer to Shifa International Hospital, the government defended the decision, saying the move was purely based on the security situation.