Pakistan Supreme Court orders Imran Khan moved from jail to hospital for treatment

Supreme Court transfer ruling

The Supreme Court of Pakistan on Tuesday ordered the transfer of former Prime Minister Imran Khan from Rawalpindi's Adiala prison to Shifa International Hospital in Islamabad within two days. A three-member bench, including Judge Shahid Waheed, ruled that the 73-year-old founder of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) must undergo comprehensive medical evaluation. The judges instructed authorities to form an oversight medical board that includes Khan's sister, Dr Uzma Khan, and his personal physician, Dr Faisal Sultan. The court also permitted Khan's family members to visit him in the hospital and granted him telephone contact with his sons who reside abroad. According to defence lawyer Uzair Bhandari, Khan will remain in the hospital until at least the next court hearing on 16 September 2026, marking his longest physical absence from prison since his detention in August 2023.

The court also directed that Khan's family be allowed to meet him at the hospital and that he be permitted to speak with his sons, who live abroad.

Medical evaluation and government response

The ruling followed an assessment submitted to the court on Monday by the superintendent of Adiala jail. That report detailed an examination conducted on 10 August 2026 by a cardiac board, which registered fluctuating blood pressure and elevated anxiety connected to severe visitation restrictions. During Tuesday's proceedings, Supreme Court judges questioned Pakistan's advocate general regarding deficiencies in the prison report, noting that Khan's pulse and cardiac readings were abnormal and that his vital organs were beginning to show strain. Courts had previously rejected transfer requests on two occasions since February 2026, including a directive from the Islamabad High Court that limited intervention to internal medical reviews. Senior PTI leader Zulfi Bukhari welcomed the Supreme Court decision, arguing that specialized external care was overdue.

Medical care provided within the prison system is no substitute for a thorough evaluation by independent specialists of his choosing.

Adviser to the Prime Minister Rana Sanaullah had addressed the Senate on Monday, maintaining that prison authorities were providing Khan with adequate medical care.

Status of legal cases and detention history

Khan has been detained since August 2023 following a string of legal proceedings that began after his removal from office in an April 2022 parliamentary no-confidence vote. Khan states that authorities have brought over 100 separate cases against him, all of which he and his party describe as politically driven. Earlier in 2026, his legal team reported that Khan had lost significant vision in his right eye while in custody, though a subsequent state medical board reported improvement after hospital treatment. Most convictions against Khan have been suspended or overturned on appeal. A 10-year prison term handed down in 2024 over the alleged disclosure of a classified diplomatic cable was later overturned. His 2023 three-year sentence in the Toshakhana case, concerning the sale of state gifts valued at over 140 million Pakistani rupees (roughly $504,686), was also suspended. However, Khan remains subject to a 14-year sentence issued in 2025 regarding the Al-Qadir Trust, where prosecutors allege that he and his wife, Bushra Bibi, accepted land valued at up to 7 billion rupees ($25 million) from a property developer in exchange for facilitating the return of 190 million pounds sterling frozen in Britain.