Imran-like facilities: prisoners move FCC

Three inmates challenge IHC's Aug 31 order, seek equal treatment

ISLAMABAD:

Three prisoners incarcerated at Rawalpindi's Adiala Jail have approached the Federal Constitutional Court (FCC) seeking the same medical facilities provided to PTI founder Imran Khan on the Supreme Court's order.

According to sources, the FCC has assigned separate numbers to the three petitions challenging an Islamabad High Court (IHC) order.

The Supreme Court on August 18 ordered that former prime minister Imran Khan be taken to Islamabad's Shifa International Hospital within two days for medical examination and treatment, while directing the government to constitute a specialised medical board for his care.

The three-member bench also directed the government and relevant officers to facilitate meetings between Imran and his family members once a week. It also directed the authorities to facilitate telephone conversations between the PTI founder and his sons twice a week.

In the wake of the SC order, three inmates at Adiala Jail—Owais Altaf, Ilyas Khan and Mohammad Ismail—approached the IHC, seeking treatment at private hospitals and permission to speak to their families abroad via WhatsApp.

The IHC on August 31 dismissed the petitions, ruling that the prisoners could not claim treatment at a private hospital as a fundamental right without a medical board determining that the required treatment was unavailable either at the jail hospital or at a government hospital.

The IHC noted that the SC's August 18 directions were interim in nature and that the case cited by the petitioners was still pending before the apex court. "An interim order cannot be treated as a final judgment," the court observed.

The inmates later approached the FCC, seeking annulment of the IHC decision and requested the court to direct the authorities to provide them with the same medical facilities available to the PTI founder.

They argued that Article 25 of the Constitution guarantees equal treatment to all citizens, while an order of the Supreme Court in the matter remains in force.

According to the petitions, the prisoners also sought directions to allow them to speak to people abroad through WhatsApp, on the same basis as the facility provided to Imran Khan in light of the SC's order.

Sources said the FCC has registered all three appeals separately. The first appeal has been assigned No 2050/2026, the second No 2051/2026, and the third No 2052/2026.