PTI seeks contempt action over Imran Khan's hospital move

LAHORE, Aug 22: The party of Pakistan's jailed ex-prime minister Imran Khan filed a contempt petition against the government on Saturday after authorities took the cricketer-turned-politician to a state-run hospital instead of the private facility ordered by the top court, party officials said.

"The petition seeks action against the prime minister, law minister, information minister" and other government officials, said NaeemPanjutha, a legal advisor for the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, adding it also calls for Khan's treatment at the private hospital ordered by the court.

Khan, who remains highly popular in Pakistan, has been imprisoned since August 2023 on charges he calls politically motivated after a fallout with the country's powerful military led to his removal from office. 

His arrest sparked massive nationwide protests, including the storming of military installations, and public perception that he was moved back to jail forcefully has the potential to rekindle such demonstrations.

A three-judge bench on Tuesday directed the government to transfer Khan from Adiala Jail to the private Shifa International Hospital in Islamabad within two days for medical examination.

Officials instead took Khan to the state-run Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) overnight on Friday for a brief check-up before returning him to jail and did not give him access to his personal physician, which the party also cites as a breach of court orders.

The PTI interprets the order as requiring Khan to remain under medical supervision until at least mid-September.�" REUTERS