Source : INDIA TODAY NEWS
The Pakistan government has moved the Supreme Court seeking a review and recall of its order directing that jailed former prime minister Imran Khan be shifted to a private medical facility. The petition was filed a day after the court ordered that Khan be taken to Shifa International Hospital in Islamabad “within the next two days” and remain there until the next hearing on September 16.
advertisement
The order came after months of concern raised by Khan’s family and supporters over his health and repeated allegations that he was being denied adequate medical care. The court also ordered the formation of a medical board to assess and treat the 73-year-old former cricketer-turned-politician, and allowed him one weekly meeting with his family during his stay at the hospital.
The directive was issued while the court was hearing several identical petitions linked to Khan’s eye ailment that surfaced earlier this year. The petitioners had sought his transfer to a private hospital, saying they were not satisfied with the treatment he was receiving at government hospitals. The federal government had initially reacted positively and announced that it would implement the order.
Later, however, Law Minister Azam Tarar said the government would file a review petition seeking a modification. In its petition filed on Wednesday, the government argued that the interim order was “discriminatory” because it applied only to Khan and not to prisoners in general. Tarar said it was believed that shifting Khan to a private hospital would set a precedent for all convicts to seek similar treatment in case of health issues. The petition also described the order as “in excess of jurisdiction” and therefore “liable to be reviewed”. It further said the order “suffers from errors of law floating on the surface of the record” and that prison rules had escaped the apex court’s attention.
Khan, founder of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party, has been lodged in Rawalpindi’s Adiala Jail since 2023 and faces several cases. The Supreme Court’s directive came a day after jail authorities submitted a report saying Khan had been treated by leading ophthalmologists in Islamabad and Rawalpindi and that his affected eye had “almost regained normal vision”. The report also said his blood pressure was 140/80, his pulse was 54 beats per minute, his ECG was normal and his chest was clear, even as the government challenged the court’s order on his transfer to a private hospital.
With PTI Inputs
– Ends
SOURCE :- TIMES OF INDIA
