Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan and senior lawyer Sardar Latif Khosa on Monday approached the Supreme Court registrar, seeking an urgent hearing of a contempt petition over the alleged non-implementation of the apex court's August 18 order. The order had directed the transfer of PTI founder and former prime minister Imran Khan to Shifa International Hospital for a medical examination and treatment. The lawyers contended that instead of being shifted to Shifa International, Imran Khan was taken to the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS), in direct violation of the Supreme Court's order. They requested that the matter be fixed for hearing on Tuesday or the following day, citing the sensitivity of the issue.
Speaking to the media afterward, Barrister Gohar and Khosa expressed deep concern over Imran Khan's health and security, arguing that prison rules were subordinate to the Constitution and that the Supreme Court's order, passed in the context of Article 9, was binding. They also alleged the harassment of doctors and raised concerns over a non-functional CT scan machine at PIMS. Referring to contempt proceedings against former prime minister Yousaf Raza Gillani, they stressed that the dignity of the judiciary had to be protected and that the order should be implemented by the same bench that issued it.
Meanwhile, the Supreme Court on Monday allotted number 2033/2026 to the federal government's miscellaneous review petition challenging its August 18 order directing that Imran Khan be shifted to Shifa International Hospital within two days. The review petition, filed under Article 188 of the Constitution through Advocate General Islamabad Naveed Hayat Malik, has not yet been fixed for hearing and is expected to be taken up according to its turn. A three-member bench, headed by Justice Shahid Waheed and comprising Justice Naeem Akhtar Afghan and Justice Ishtiaq Ibrahim, had on August 18 ordered the transfer of Imran Khan to Shifa International Hospital for medical examination and treatment.
The federal government, through the Chief Commissioner Islamabad, challenged the order, asking the apex court to recall or review it. It argued that the August 18 order was beyond the court's jurisdiction and suffered from apparent errors of law. The government further contended that the transfer of a convicted prisoner to a hospital for medical treatment is regulated by the Pakistan Prison Rules, 1978, particularly Rule 197, which prescribes the procedure and manner for shifting prisoners to hospitals. The rival petitions have brought the implementation of the Supreme Court's August 18 directive back before the apex court, with the PTI seeking enforcement of the order and the government seeking its review.