Imran Khan, Pakistan’s former prime minister, was moved from prison to a hospital in Islamabad on Thursday. The transfer follows a Supreme Court decision allowing him to receive medical treatment.
A spokesperson for Khan’s party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, told journalists about the transfer on Thursday, DR reports, citing the news agency Reuters. There was a large security presence as the 73-year-old was brought to the hospital.
Khan has been held in custody since August 2023. In 2025, he was sentenced to 14 and 17 years in two separate corruption cases. His wife, Bushra Bibi, was also convicted and sentenced in both cases.
Khan says the cases are politically motivated and designed to prevent him from returning to power. The current government in Pakistan rejects that claim. His family and party had long demanded that he be moved away from the prison in Rawalpindi.
What the court ordered
ABC News, citing the Associated Press, reported that the Supreme Court ordered on August 18 that Khan be taken to Shifa International Hospital in Islamabad. A medical board including one of his personal physicians, Faisal Sultan, is to examine him. The court also directed prison officials to allow weekly family meetings and phone calls with his sons.
Bloomberg reported that the order concerns various ailments, including his eyes, and that Khan is to remain at the hospital until his next appeal hearing on September 16, 2026. Daily Sabah reported the 48-hour deadline, citing PTI spokesperson Naeem Haider Panjutha.
According to The Medialine, the court also ordered the formation of a medical board and instructed that Khan be kept under tight security at the hospital. DW News reported that the judges warned against turning his treatment into a political flashpoint.
Medical assessments of Khan’s condition differ. Reuters, in reporting carried by U.S. News in February 2026, said his lawyers put the loss at about 85 percent of the vision in his right eye, diagnosed as central retinal vein occlusion. The Indian Express reported on August 18 that prison authorities told the court his eyesight had improved considerably and was almost normal.
The Pakistani government has said medical records showed no sign of a condition requiring immediate treatment. Al Jazeera reported that the office of the chief commissioner in Islamabad filed a review petition challenging the order to move him to a private hospital.
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf described the Supreme Court’s message on Wednesday as new hope, according to Reuters. The party is planning a nationwide march on September 27, demanding Khan’s release and faster handling of his cases. Khan, prime minister from 2018 to 2022, founded the party in 1996.
