Review plea against Imran Khan’s Shifa transfer order ‘returned with objections’

The Supreme Court registrar’s office has returned a review petition challenging the court’s order directing the transfer of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan to Shifa International Hospital, after raising procedural objections, Aaj News reported citing sources on Thursday.

According to the sources, the registrar’s office noted that the petition did not include the required paper books and complete legal documents. As a result, the review petition could not be entertained in its present form.

The petition was returned with objections following an initial scrutiny under the relevant rules and procedures, sources added.

Sources said the Islamabad chief commissioner and his legal team were working to address the objections raised by the registrar’s office. The technical deficiencies in the paper books and other required documentation would be rectified before the review petition is filed again before the Supreme Court, they added.

The development prompted a strong reaction from PTI leader Salman Akram Raja. In a post on X, Raja claimed that the state had withdrawn its review petition after objections were raised by the Supreme Court’s filing branch.

“There is no excuse whatsoever for not complying with the SC order of August 18. Imran Khan Sb must be transferred to Shifa International Hospital forthwith. Today is the day,” Raja said.

The matter follows a legal and administrative dispute over Imran’s transfer to Shifa International Hospital for medical treatment.

The 73-year-old former prime minister has been incarcerated since August 2023 due to convictions that he and his party claim were motivated by politics. He has been involved in several court proceedings since his removal in April 2022 due to a vote of no confidence.

The Supreme Court had on August 18 ordered the PTI founder’s transfer to the private hospital within two days. The federal government subsequently challenged the order before the apex court through a review petition filed by the Islamabad administration through the chief commissioner and Advocate General.

The review petition had sought reconsideration or withdrawal of the August 18 order, arguing that the court had exceeded its jurisdiction and that the chief commissioner had not been formally issued a notice before the order was passed.

The petition further maintained that Imran had been receiving regular medical examinations and that government medical boards had examined and treated him on several occasions.

The Islamabad administration argued that the rules and regulations governing the transfer of prisoners to hospitals had not been taken into consideration. It maintained that any decision regarding a prisoner’s transfer should be based on the professional opinion of medical experts and that police supervision was mandatory under the law if a prisoner was transferred to a hospital.

Federal Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar had earlier defended the government’s decision, saying the authorities and legal team had held detailed consultations following the Supreme Court’s order.

Tarar said the government wanted Imran to undergo a medical examination at a government hospital and sought appropriate amendments to certain aspects of the court’s order to remove ambiguities.

He said convicted prisoners were, under the law, first transferred to government hospitals and could only be shifted to private hospitals if it was established that the required treatment was not available at a government facility.

The law minister had also argued that the court’s order could create difficulties for jail authorities in implementing the transfer.

In its written order, the Supreme Court had directed that Imran should be shifted to Shifa International Hospital within two days and ordered the formation of a medical board comprising specialist doctors.

The court had also permitted Dr Faisal Sultan and Imran Khan’s sister, Uzma Khan, to be present during his medical examination.

Additionally, the court had directed that Imran be allowed one family meeting per week and two phone calls with his children each week.

However, despite the expiry of the two-day deadline specified in the court order, Imran has not yet been transferred to Shifa International Hospital.