Referee Yahya Afridi. PHOTO: FILE
ISLAMABAD:
The Supreme Court Justice Office has returned a miscellaneous application seeking former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s transfer from Adiala Jail to Shifa International Hospital after raising objections.
The Registrar’s Office pointed out that the SC in its February 12 order had clearly asked the petitioner to seek appropriate relief from the Islamabad High Court (IHC). It noted that the Toshakhana criminal case involving the PTI founder is already pending in the high court.
The objections further stated that the miscellaneous application was not filed through an Advocate-on-Record as required under the Supreme Court Rules 2025. Applications filed without an Advocate-on-Record are not maintainable. The plea was therefore returned.
Earlier on Friday, PTI lawyers including Latif Khosa and Naeem Panjutha appeared before a bench headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Yahya Afridi and requested that their request for Imran’s transfer from Adiala jail to the hospital be fixed for hearing.
The CJP noted that no such application was pending before the court as the SC registrar had returned it with objections a day earlier. He noted that there was no application available for the court to proceed with.
Latif Khosa argued that an application for early hearing had also been filed and maintained that the court had issued directions regarding Imran’s medical treatment.
However, Judge Afridi clarified that the court had not passed such an order; rather, the government had given an assurance regarding the former prime minister’s medical treatment.
He advised the lawyer to carefully read the earlier order and reiterated that the health issue was not before the Supreme Court.
Khosa stressed that the request for hospital transfer was made on humanitarian rather than political or legal grounds. The CJP replied that a medical check-up had already been conducted for humanitarian reasons.
During the exchange, when Latif Khosa urged the court “to try to understand his point”, Justice Shahid Bilal Hassan, a member of the bench, noted that he had known Khosa since 1992 and fully understood both his arguments and the platform from which he spoke.
Concluding the matter, the CJP advised the senior counsel to meet the SC Registrar regarding the objections and stated that if a copy of the objections was not provided, they could approach the court.
According to sources, CJP Yahya Afridi has made it clear to PTI that the Supreme Court no longer has jurisdiction in the matter of transferring Imran Khan to a hospital. He has advised the party chairman, Gohar Ali Khan, to approach the IHC in this regard.
Gohar met the CJP in the Supreme Court on Friday on the issue of shifting the PTI founder from Adiala jail to Shifa International Hospital in view of his deteriorating health.
During the meeting, the CJP told him that whatever relief the SC could grant the jailed politician had already been extended. He further clarified that it was not within the current scope of action.
