Gohar questions dialogue prospects after Imran’s transfer to PIMS

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Barrister Gohar Khan on Friday questioned how political negotiations could move forward after the government failed to implement a Supreme Court (SC) order directing the transfer of party founder Imran Khan to Islamabad’s Shifa International Hospital.

Gohar was responding to Information Minister Attaullah Tarar’s statement that Imran had not been admitted to Shifa hospital, as had been expected following the SC’s order, but had instead been taken directly to Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) for examination before being returned to Adiala jail. Tarar said doctors from Shifa were present during the examination and that Imran was found medically fit.

The SC ordered on Tuesday that Imran be moved to Shifa International Hospital for treatment for the next few days and directed the government to arrange weekly meetings between him and his family. In response, the government had filed a review petition before the SC, calling its order “discriminatory in nature”.

Speaking to reporters outside before the National Assembly session, Gohar said the government’s handling of Imran’s transfer to the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS), instead of Shifa, had undermined PTI’s efforts to resolve political issues through dialogue.

“What happened was very unfortunate. We did not expect this. There is someone who does not want any solution to the problems. We made a great effort,” he told reporters outside Parliament before the National Assembly session.

Gohar said the SC’s order was clear and required Imran to be shifted to a hospital, kept there and undergo the necessary medical tests. “If there had been any ambiguity in it, a review could have been sought. There was no ambiguity in the SC’s order,” he said.

He said the PTI had been assured that the order would be implemented and that he had personally checked on the arrangements.

“There was absolutely no expectation that he would be shifted to another hospital, or which hospital he would be shifted to, or that it would not even be told which hospital he had been shifted to,” Gohar said.

He questioned what tests had been conducted on Imran, what the PTI founder had said during the examination and why his family had been left waiting for information. “But the Supreme Court’s order has been violated,” he said.

Responding to the prime minister’s offer of talks, Gohar said the PTI had continued to seek a political solution but criticised the manner in which the government had approached dialogue. “You do not shake hands like this. Negotiations do not happen like this,” he said.

He then questioned how democracy could function if the government could not provide a major political party with space or comply with an SC order.

“If you are not giving such a major leader and such a major party this much space, and if it is difficult to shift him to a hospital, and if it is difficult to implement an order of the Supreme Court, then democracy does not work like this,” he said.

Later, speaking in the National Assembly, Gohar warned that the PTI could reconsider its participation in Parliament. “Perhaps you do not want us to remain part of this system,” he said. “Perhaps after a few days, we will no longer be part of this assembly.”

He added that the party would decide within a few days whether it would continue its participation in the assembly.

Achakzai questions overnight transfer of Imran

Later in the session, National Assembly opposition leader Mahmood Khan Achakzai said there had been widespread jubilation across the country after it became known that Imran was being shifted to Shifa International Hospital in accordance with the SC’s orders.

“But at night, we found out that, under the cover of darkness, the PTI founder had been taken to another hospital,” Achakzai said. He also alleged that Imran’s sister had been confined to another room at the hospital.

Achakzai said the episode raised concerns about elements within the government potentially working to undermine relations between the PTI and the government. “If there are such elements in our government who are sabotaging matters between the Tehreek-e-Insaf and the government,” he said.

He said that whenever an atmosphere conducive to dialogue is created, unknown forces come in and sabotage it. 

Salman Akram Raja refutes government's stance

PTI Secretary General Salman Akram Raja, in a post on X, disputed the government’s claim that security concerns and disruptions around Shifa International Hospital had prevented Imran Khan from being taken there, saying the roads leading to the hospital were not closed because of any rush.

Raja said Imran’s personal physician, Dr Faisal Sultan, had himself been taken to Shifa in a vehicle with tinted windows and surrounded by police vehicles. “The roads to Shifa International were by no means closed because of any rush,” he said.

The statement directly challenged Information Minister Attaullah Tarar’s explanation that Imran had been taken to PIMS instead of Shifa “in view of the security situation created by PTI workers on the route to and outside Shifa Hospital”. Tarar had said Imran was examined at PIMS in the presence of doctors from Shifa and was later declared medically fit.

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Tariq Fazl Chaudhry had also cited an “unusual rush and security situation” outside Shifa as the reason for moving Imran to PIMS. 

Imran taken to PIMS, not Shifa

Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said on Friday morning that Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan had been taken to PIMS, rather than Shifa International Hospital, for a medical examination, with doctors from Shifa also present.

Tarar said Imran had been taken to hospital during the night of August 20 and 21 under “appropriate security arrangements” in accordance with the Supreme Court’s order. He said Imran was taken to PIMS instead of Shifa “in view of the security situation created by PTI workers on the route to and outside Shifa Hospital”.

The clarification came after information emerged late on Thursday night that Imran was being transferred from Adiala jail to Shifa shortly after midnight following the Supreme Court’s order. He was taken via Chakri, while heavy police contingents were deployed around Shifa and several roads leading to the hospital were temporarily closed with barbed wire. The Islamabad police chief and senior officers were also present outside the hospital.

Tarar said the medical examination was conducted at PIMS, where doctors from Shifa were also present. A team of qualified doctors, including an ophthalmologist, cardiologist and physician, conducted a detailed examination and declared Imran medically fit, he said.

Imran’s sister, Uzma Khan, remained present throughout the medical examination and treatment process, Tarar said, adding that the PTI founder was transferred back to Adiala jail at approximately 5am on Friday.

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.

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.

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

“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.

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.