Pakistan government to challenge Supreme Court order on Imran Khan's medical transfer

Pakistan's government says it will challenge a Supreme Court order to move jailed ex-Prime Minister Imran Khan to hospital for medical checks.

The country's top court ruled on Tuesday that the 73-year-old be transferred from the Adiala prison in Rawalpindi to the private Shifa International Hospital in the capital, Islamabad, within 48 hours.

The ruling "does not fall within the four corners of the law," Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar said in a video statement issued on Tuesday night.

The minister said a convicted prisoner must be treated inside the jail or at a public hospital according to law, adding that he was requesting Khan's medical tests be carried out at a government hospital instead of a private facility.

Concerns of poor health

The cricketer-turned-politician has been in prison since 2023 after being convicted on a string of charges that he claims were politically motivated.

Khan's party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), and his family have repeatedly raised fears about his health in prison and have called for him to be given access to healthcare and visitation rights. His lawyers also say he has lost most of the vision in his right eye.

Tuesday's Supreme Court order directed authorities to give Khan access to his personal physician. It also said he should be allowed to meet with his family once a week and have a phone call twice a week with his sons who live in London.

From PM to prisoner

Khan was Pakistan's prime minister from 2018 to 2022. Following his ouster in a no-confidence vote, he was convicted on a number of charges including allegations of an unlawful marriage and corruption. He was sentenced late last year, along with his wife, to 17 years in prison for graft.

Both deny wrongdoing.

PTI still enjoys significant support across key provinces in Pakistan, and Khan himself remains a popular figure. His arrest in early 2023 triggered nationwide protests that resulted in hundreds of people being arrested.