PTI claims govt has withdrawn review petition after SC objection, demands immediate hospital transfer of Imran

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Secretary General Salman Akram Raja on Thursday claimed that the government had withdrawn its review petition against the Supreme Court’s (SC) order for shifting party founder Imran Khan to Shifa International Hospital, demanding immediate implementation of the directive.

"The state has withdrawn its review petition from the SC after objections were placed on it by the SC filing branch. There is no excuse whatsoever for not complying with the SC order of August 18. Imran Khan must be transferred to Shifa International Hospital forthwith. Today is the day,” Raja said in a post on X.

A day earlier, the federal government filed a review petition before the SC, calling its order directing the transfer of incarcerated Imran to Islamabad’s Shifa International Hospital “discriminatory in nature”.

According to sources, the SC has returned a review petition due to an objection that the required paper books had not been completed along with the review plea.

The sources said the review petition would be filed again after addressing the registrar’s objections, adding that some amendments would also be made to the review petition before it was resubmitted to the SC.

Imran’s lawyer Khalid Yousaf Chaudhry reached Adiala jail with a contempt of court petition concerning his client’s transfer to hospital. Chaudhry said he had come to obtain Imran’s signatures on the contempt petition and power of attorney documents.

“The government is bound to transfer the PTI founder to hospital within two days,” He said.

He said the lawyers had prepared to initiate contempt proceedings and would file the contempt petition in the Supreme Court. “The government is committing contempt of court through its obstinacy," Chaudhry added.

SC orders Imran’s transfer to Shifa International Hospital for treatment

On Tuesday, SC ordered that Imran be shifted to Shifa International Hospital for treatment for the next few days and directed the government to arrange weekly meetings between him and his family.

The hearing came after a medical board report and a report by the Adiala Jail Superintendent submitted to the SC on Monday recommended more frequent meetings between Imran and his immediate family and spouse to help manage his blood pressure and anxiety, highlighting concerns over the former premier's blood pressure (BP).

A three-member bench headed by Justice Shahid Waheed was hearing cases concerning Imran's access to his sisters and personal physicians, as well as his medical record.

Read: Govt calls SC order to shift Imran to private hospital 'discriminatory', files review petition

The court further ordered that Imran’s personal physician, Dr Faisal Sultan, be granted access to him and directed the formation of a medical board comprising an eye specialist, a general physician, and a cardiologist along with Dr Sultan.

His sister, Dr Uzma, will also be associated with the newly established medical board, according to the order. The SC directed that Imran’s family bear the cost of his treatment at the hospital.

The court also instructed Imran’s family and lawyers not to share his medical report with the media, with Justice Naeem Akhtar Afghan ordering that the report be kept completely confidential.

“We assure the court that the medical report will remain completely confidential,” Raja said. The court further directed that no political activity, media talks or press conferences be held outside the hospital.

“Do not engage in politics outside the hospital,” Justice Afghan said. “There are other patients in the hospital,” he added, stressing that other patients should not be affected.

Raja and PTI Parliamentary Secretary Shahid Khattak assured the court that no political activity would take place outside the hospital. “Our political activities will remain completely separate,” Raja said.

Read: Medical board urges concessions for Imran

The court also directed that arrangements be made for Imran to have telephone conversations with his children.

The SC ordered that Imran’s medical reports not be used for political purposes. The court warned that the order could be withdrawn if its directives were violated, while allowing the government and other parties to approach the court if they believed the orders were not being implemented.