The Supreme Court (SC) has accepted a chamber appeal filed by PTI founder Imran Khan, ordering early fixation of the case before an apex court bench as soon as possible. The petition, which was initially rejected due to lack of signed power of attorney attached to it, sought to challenge the SC Registrar’s order that returned petitions seeking Imran’s transfer to Shifa International Hospital and access to his personal physicians.
Imran Khan had filed a petition with the SC, requesting that he be shifted to Islamabad’s Shifa International Hospital for medical treatment. The SC Registrar had returned the petition on grounds that no signed power of attorney was attached to it. However, Advocate Uzair Karamat Bhandari appeared before the chamber of Chief Justice Yahya Afridi to plead the case.
The counsel argued that the registrar exceeded his administrative authority by not attaching a signed power of attorney to the petition. The SC also ordered that the petition be heard along with Dr Uzma Khan’s sister, Dr Uzma Khan, who had challenged the Islamabad High Court’s ruling refusing to shift Imran to Shifa International Hospital.
The chamber appeal argued that determining maintainability in cases involving constitutional or statutory interpretation was a judicial function requiring legal reasoning and consideration of rival submissions. It also sought to convert the present petition into an appeal and direct for a medical examination by physicians of Imran’s choice, including Dr Khurram Mirza, Dr Asim Yusuf, Dr Faisal Sultan, and Dr Samina Niazi.
Furthermore, the petition demanded immediate transfer of Imran Khan to Shifa International Hospital for treatment and access to his personal physicians during his incarceration. The opposition had also challenged before the SC that Islamabad High Court’s ruling refusing to shift Imran to Shifa International Hospital was unjustified and denied him proper treatment.
Imran Khan is currently incarcerated at Adiala jail, while his two sons live abroad. As his closest relative in Pakistan, he maintained that he had a natural love and affection for his brother and was seriously concerned about his health and well-being, which were being jeopardized by official acts and omissions of the respondents.
The petition also claimed that Imran Khan is serving a 14-year sentence at Rawalpindi’s Adiala jail in a £190 million corruption case known as the Al-Qadir Trust case. His eye ailment, right central retinal vein occlusion (CRVO), had come to light in late January and receives government-provided treatment.
The opposition has been engaged in a blame game with the government over Imran Khan’s delayed care, accusing them of lacking transparency in not ensuring appropriate treatment for him and not allowing his personal physicians access to him. The government denies these allegations.
The Supreme Court (SC) will now fixate on this case before an apex court bench as soon as possible, giving priority to it among the existing cases.
Based on reporting from Dawn.
