Judge Yahya Afridi. PHOTO: ARCHIVE
ISLAMABAD:
The Office of the Registrar of the Supreme Court has returned a miscellaneous application seeking transfer of former Prime Minister Imran Khan from Adiala Jail to Shifa International Hospital in view of his deteriorating health conditions, after raising objections.
The Registrar’s Office noted that in its order dated February 12, the Supreme Court had clearly directed the petitioner to seek appropriate relief from the Islamabad High Court (IHC). He noted that the Toshakhana criminal case involving the PTI founder is already pending before the high court.
The objections further stated that the miscellaneous application was not filed through a Registered Advocate as required by the Supreme Court Rules, 2025. Applications filed without a Registered Advocate are not maintainable. Accordingly, the reason was returned.
Earlier on Friday, PTI lawyers, including Latif Khosa and Naeem Panjutha, appeared before a court headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Yahya Afridi and sought to fix their application for shifting Imran from Adiala Jail to the hospital for hearing.
The CJP noted that the said application was not pending before the court as the SC registrar had returned it with objections a day earlier. He commented that there was no application available on record on which the court could proceed.
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, Justice Afridi clarified that the court had not made any such order; rather, the government had given assurances regarding the former prime minister’s medical care.
He advised the lawyer to read the above order carefully, reiterating that the health issue was not pending before the Supreme Court.
Khosa emphasized that the request for transfer to the hospital was made for humanitarian reasons rather than political or legal ones. The CJP responded that a medical examination had already been carried out on humanitarian grounds.
During the exchange, when Latif Khosa urged the court to “try to understand his point”, Justice Shahid Bilal Hassan, a member of the court, commented that he had known Khosa since 1992 and fully understood both his arguments and the platform from which he spoke.
At the conclusion of the proceedings, the CJP advised the senior counsel to meet the SC registrar to discuss 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 issue of Imran Khan’s transfer to a hospital. He has advised party president Gohar Ali Khan to approach the IHC in this regard.
Gohar met the CJP in the Supreme Court on Friday over 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 allegedly told him that any relief the SC could grant to the jailed politician had already been extended. He further clarified that receiving a suo motu notification was not within the present scope of action.
