The Supreme Court of Pakistan on Tuesday ordered that jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan be moved to hospital for medical treatment, his political party said.

The directive meets a longstanding demand by Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party and his family who have been raising concerns about his health and poor incarceration conditions.

The court ordered the authorities to take Khan to hospital within 48 hours, party spokesperson Naeem Haider Panjutha said. He will remain in hospital till September 16.

The 73-year-old cricketer-turned-politician was arrested in August 2023 and has been in Rawalpindi’s Adiala jail since September 2023. He is facing several criminal cases, mostly linked to alleged corruption.

Khan’s son Kasim had said in February that the family has been informed that the former prime minister has “lost most of the vision in his right eye, with reports indicating only 15% eyesight remains”.

On Tuesday, the bench was hearing cases relating to Khan allegedly not being allowed to meet his sisters and personal physicians, and about his medical record, The Express Tribune reported.

The order came after a medical board report submitted to the court recommended frequent meetings between Khan and his family to help manage his anxiety and blood pressure, the newspaper reported.

The court also granted Khan’s personal physician permission to meet the former prime minister. However, it directed Khan’s family and lawyers not to share his medical report with the public.

Additional Attorney General Aamir Rehman, representing the government, opposed the court order. He said that no notice had been issued to the government and that Khan could not be shifted to hospital immediately, The Express Tribune reported.

Khan formed the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party in 1996 after retiring from the sport and served as the prime minister between August 2018 and April 2022. His government collapsed after his relations with the Pakistani military leadership deteriorated.

In January 2025, a court sentenced Khan to 14 years of imprisonment and his wife Bushra Bibi to seven years after finding them guilty in a corruption case.

Amnesty International had in December urged the Pakistani authorities to “immediately restore” Khan’s access to his family and legal counsel in line with international human rights law.

This came less than a week after the United Nations’ special rapporteur on torture called on the Pakistani government to take immediate steps to address reports of “inhumane and undignified detention conditions” of Khan.

The special rapporteur warned that the conditions Khan was reportedly living in “could amount to torture”.

Khan’s friends, including former Indian cricketers, from across the world have been urging the authorities in Pakistan to treaty him with dignity.

Written by Nachiket Deuskar. Edited by Anamika Pathak.

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