Uzma moves SC for early hearing of Imran's medical transfer case

Urges court to appoint local commission amid SC, FCC jurisdiction dispute

As neither the Supreme Court nor the Federal Constitutional Court (FCC) has fixed a date for hearing the matter concerning former prime minister Imran Khan's transfer from Adiala jail to a private medical facility, an application was filed in the Supreme Court on Tuesday on behalf of his sister, Uzma Khan, seeking early hearing of the case.

Uzma, who has herself been detained under the Maintenance of Public Order (MPO) at Kot Lakhpat Jail, moved an application requesting the apex court to urgently take up the matter concerning Imran's transfer from Adiala jail to Shifa International Hospital in compliance with its August 18 order.

Earlier, Senator Mashal Yousafzai had also filed an application seeking early hearing of the case.

Read: PTI seeks Imran's immediate transfer to Shifa International Hospital over renewed blood pressure concern

Uzma had already filed a contempt petition against the prime minister and other executive authorities over their alleged failure to implement the August 18 order.

The latest application also urged the court to depute one of its officers or appoint a local commission to oversee Imran's transfer to Shifa International Hospital for a medical examination.

Explaining the urgency, the applicant submitted that, according to media reports, the PTI founder's blood pressure had recently risen to 192, raising serious concerns about his health.

"If an early hearing of this matter is not granted, the applicant's and Imran guaranteed rights will continue to be prejudiced; in particular, his fundamental right to health and well-being, access to medical advice and facilities as well as to members of his family will continue to be violated.”

The application further stated: "The material showing the precarious state of his health and the widespread public concern about it has already been filed with the petition.”

The SC was also requested to fix the main case for hearing next week.

On September 14, the FCC had summoned the record of the case concerning Imran's health from the SC.

Subsequently, on September 16, a three-member bench headed by Justice Shahid Waheed raised questions about the FCC's order. During the hearing, Attorney General for Pakistan Mansoor Awan sought three weeks to assist the SC in the matter.

Also Read: Gohar demands immediate implementation of SC order on Imran's medical treatment

Despite two months having passed, the SC has not fixed the matter for hearing. The FCC, meanwhile, listed the three-prisoners case in which it had sought the record of Imran's health-related case.

A lawyer believes that the matter's continued absence from the cause lists of both courts suggests there may be an informal understanding between the SC and the FCC.

He said that instead of allowing the matter to linger, the jurisdictional question between the two apex courts needed to be resolved.