The party of jailed former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan filed a contempt petition against the government Saturday after authorities transferred the cricketer-turned-politician to a state-run hospital instead of the private facility ordered by the country’s top court, party officials said.
“The petition seeks action against the prime minister, law minister, information minister” and other government officials, said Naeem Panjutha, a legal adviser to Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party. He said the petition also calls for Khan to receive treatment at the private hospital designated by the court.
Khan, who remains highly popular in Pakistan, has been imprisoned since August 2023 on charges he says are politically motivated. His removal from office followed a fallout with the country’s powerful military. His arrest triggered massive nationwide protests, including attacks on military installations, and the perception that authorities had forcibly returned him to prison could reignite unrest.
A three-judge bench on Tuesday ordered the government to transfer Khan from Adiala Jail to Islamabad’s private Shifa International Hospital within two days for a medical examination.
Officials instead took Khan to the state-run Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences, or PIMS, overnight Friday for a brief checkup before returning him to jail. They did not give him access to his personal physician, which the party also cited as a breach of the court’s orders.
The PTI interprets the order as requiring Khan to remain under medical supervision until at least mid-September.
Khan’s sister, Uzma Khan, who attended the examination at PIMS, told reporters that while her brother is physically fit, “Khan told me that he is being repeatedly tortured in prison.” The interior and law ministries, as well as jail authorities, did not respond to a request for comment from Reuters on the allegations of torture.
Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said Friday that Khan was examined at PIMS because of security risks.
Khan’s supporters had lined the streets of Islamabad overnight, and PTI leaders said the episode would intensify pressure on the government and boost preparations for a planned protest march on Sept. 27.
