Pakistan’s political situation took another major turn on Friday, with the PTI founder and former prime minister Imran Khan being shifted again to Adiala Jail after undergoing a detailed medical examination at Islamabad’s Shifa International Hospital in the early hours. The overnight development came days after the Supreme Court ordered Khan to be taken to hospital for treatment, adding another twist to the long-running legal and political battle surrounding his detention.

Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said Imran Khan was shifted to Shifa International on the night of Aug 20 and 21 under what the government termed appropriate security arrangements. He was medically fit after a thorough medical examination by a team of qualified doctors including an ophthalmologist, cardiologist and physician.

Shortly after midnight, Khan was taken to Shifa International. His transfer was so sensitive that his journey was undertaken through Chakri under tight security. Heavily armed police were deployed around the hospital and several roads leading to the hospital were temporarily blocked with barbed wire. Authorities went over the security arrangements with the police chief of Islamabad and other senior officials present as well.

The government’s security measures brought restrictions on public and political activity around the hospital. PTI leaders advised party workers not to gather outside Shifa International in accordance with the Supreme Court’s order that political activity and media conferences should not be held outside the hospital during Khan’s treatment.

Khan was shifted to the hospital following a Supreme Court order on August 18, directing authorities to move him to Shifa International Hospital for treatment for the next few days. The court also ordered the government to allow Khan to meet his family once a week. But the government filed a review petition in the High Court terming the order as discriminatory.

What was at issue politically and legally was the implementation of the Supreme Court order itself. Khan’s lawyers and PTI leaders alleged that the government was delaying the compliance. His lawyer Khalid Yousaf Chaudhry warned that a contempt petition could be filed before the Supreme Court if the order was not implemented.

The government’s official explanation for why the PTI founder was returned to Adiala Jail and not allowed to stay at the hospital is Tarar’s statement that a team of specialists examined Khan and declared him medically fit. But for PTI supporters, the episode is unlikely to end with the early-morning transfer. The party and Khan’s legal team will likely keep looking into the execution of the Supreme Court’s order, particularly its orders regarding medical treatment and weekly family meetings.

Imran Khan is back in Adiala Jail and the focus now is on whether the government will fully implement the remaining directions of the Supreme Court and whether Khan’s legal team will challenge any aspect of the latest developments. For Pakistan’s already polarised political environment, the episode is more than a medical transfer. It is another moment in the continuing struggle over the former prime minister’s custody, rights and political future.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan (INP)