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ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court on Friday accepted a chamber appeal filed by former prime minister and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan. The court directed that his petition be fixed for hearing before a Supreme Court bench at the earliest. Imran Khan has requested the court to order his transfer from Adiala Jail to Islamabad’s Shifa International Hospital for medical treatment. He has also sought permission for regular meetings with his family members, personal physicians and legal counsel. In addition, he wants his medical reports to be shared with his family. The appeal challenged an earlier decision by the Supreme Court Registrar, who had returned the petitions after raising objections. The Registrar’s Office said the petitions were incomplete because they did not include a signed power of attorney. During Friday’s proceedings, Advocate Uzair Karamat Bhandari appeared before Chief Justice Yahya Afridi in chambers on behalf of Imran Khan. After hearing the arguments, the chief justice declared the Registrar’s objections ineffective and directed the legal team to submit a signed power of attorney. The Registrar’s Office was also instructed to assign a regular case number to the petition so it could be listed for hearing without unnecessary delay. The Supreme Court further ordered that a separate petition filed by Imran Khan’s sister, Dr Uzma Khan, should be heard together with his own case. In the appeal, Imran Khan argued that the Registrar had exceeded his administrative powers by deciding the maintainability of the petition. His legal team maintained that such questions should be decided by judges because they involve constitutional and legal interpretation rather than administrative scrutiny. The petition also requested that Imran Khan be examined by doctors of his own choice. The names included Dr Khurram Mirza, Dr Asim Yusuf, Dr Faisal Sultan and Dr Samina Niazi. It further asked the court to order his immediate transfer to Shifa International Hospital for a detailed medical examination and treatment. The petition also sought uninterrupted access to his personal doctors, family members and lawyers during his imprisonment and treatment. Dr Uzma Khan has also challenged an Islamabad High Court ruling that refused to order Imran Khan’s transfer to Shifa International Hospital. She also questioned the decision denying his family access to his medical information and visits by his personal physicians. In her petition, Dr Uzma said Imran Khan and his wife are currently imprisoned in Adiala Jail, while his two sons live abroad. She said she is his closest immediate family member in Pakistan and, as a medical doctor, is deeply concerned about his health. She argued that she has the legal standing to pursue the case on his behalf. Imran Khan has remained in custody since August 2023. He is serving a 14-year prison sentence in the £190 million Al-Qadir Trust corruption case. He is also receiving treatment for right central retinal vein occlusion (CRVO), an eye condition that was diagnosed earlier this year. His medical treatment has become a major political issue in recent months. Opposition leaders have repeatedly accused the government of failing to ensure proper medical care and denying him access to his personal doctors. They have also demanded his transfer to Shifa International Hospital

The exhumation of Mir Ali Raza’s body has been postponed for Friday, his father’s lawyer Jibran Nasir said. Nasir spoke to the media and raised serious concerns over the medical board formed for the case. He said a third notification regarding the medical board had been issued. According to Nasir, the first and second medical boards were merged to form a new third board. However, he said the family does not accept the latest notification. He said Mir Raza’s parents had already recorded their statements before the investigating officer. Nasir said the family would not allow the exhumation to take place under the supervision of what he called a disputed medical board. He described the exhumation as a sensitive legal process. He said the court had directed the police surgeon and police to take necessary action. A medical team was formed after the court’s directions. However, Nasir alleged that the medical board was changed overnight. He said the sudden change had raised serious questions for the family. He questioned why doctors from Karachi were not included in the new board. He also questioned the removal of doctors who had been part of the earlier medical board. Nasir asked why a new board was formed without first withdrawing the previous notification. He also questioned why the new notification was issued during the night. He questioned the role of the Director General Health in Hyderabad. He asked under which law the official became the supervising officer of the medical board. Nasir also questioned how the orders of the Karachi police surgeon were superseded. He asked which order of the health secretary was referred to in the letter issued from Hyderabad. He said the family would not accept any alternative arrangement. They would only recognize the previously constituted eight-member medical board. Nasir also raised questions about the investigation into Mir Raza’s death. He said the investigating officer could not recover a bullet casing for eight days. According to him, the casing was recovered only after the family approached the court. He questioned how important the casing could be without the recovery of the pistol allegedly used in the incident. Nasir also alleged that the investigating officer had not properly inspected Mir Raza’s room. He said the family had lost a young member and wanted the case to be investigated with complete seriousness. He stressed that an exhumation was not an ordinary procedure. Meanwhile, preparations for the exhumation had been completed at the PECHS cemetery in Karachi. A police team had also reached the cemetery.