Pakistan’s Supreme Court has ordered authorities to give imprisoned former Prime Minister Imran Khan access to specialist medical care and regular contact with his family, following months of concerns over his health.
A three-judge panel ruled Tuesday that Khan is to undergo an examination at Islamabad’s Shifa International Hospital by a board of specialists that will include his personal physician, Faisal Sultan.
The ruling also gives his family the right to meet him weekly and allows him to speak by telephone with his sons, his lawyers and party officials said.
Khan’s family has spent months seeking greater access to the former premier, who has also asked to be treated by doctors of his own choosing.
Khan’s lawyer Salman Akram Raja said the court issued the order because his client’s health was at stake, adding that access to medical treatment is protected under Pakistan’s Constitution.
Raja also urged Khan’s supporters not to gather outside the hospital when he is taken there, saying large crowds could disrupt medical services and inconvenience other patients.
The ruling follows a petition filed by Khan months ago seeking to be moved from the high-security prison where he is being held in Rawalpindi to a hospital and granted access to his personal doctors, family members and lawyers.
Authorities had restricted prison visits earlier this year after receiving intelligence about a possible attack on the facility, according to officials.
Khan was repeatedly taken to a government hospital earlier this year for treatment of an eye condition. His family raised fresh concerns in late January, saying he had lost about 85% of the vision in his right eye. The government disputed the claim and later said his vision had improved by about 70%.
Khan, a former international cricket star who became prime minister in 2018, has been imprisoned since 2023 following his conviction in a graft case.
He was removed from office in April 2022 after losing a parliamentary no-confidence vote. He has described the move as a conspiracy involving the military and the United States, both of which deny the accusations.
