Imran Khan files plea for medical check-up by Shaukat Khanum doctors

RAWALPINDI: Founder of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and incarcerated former premier Imran Khan has filed a plea for a medical examination done by Shaukat Khanum Hospital doctors.

The petition was filed in the Islamabad High Court (IHC) through the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur. The Government of Punjab and the Inspector General (IG) of Prisons have been made parties in the petition.

The doctors of Shaukat Khanum Hospital should be allowed to conduct medical examinations and tests, the petition requests.

IMRAN KHAN AT ODDS WITH JAIL AUTHORITIES

This is not the first time when Imran Khan has shown mistrust in the management of Adiala jail, or the facilities being provided by the jail authorities. Earlier in August, his sons had posted on X, formerly Twitter, that several prisoners at Adiala Jail had died of hepatitis. They also alleged that Imran Khan is being given “dirty, muddy water,” adding that this could make him sick.

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Rubbishing the tweets, the Adiala jail superintendent said that “the jail administration is diligently performing its duties in providing prisoners with food, hygiene and other essential facilities.” He added that all new inmates and under-trial prisoners are properly screened for contagious diseases such as Hepatitis B, C and AIDS before being admitted to the jail, and “if a contagious disease is diagnosed, the affected prisoner is immediately isolated from others and treatment begins without delay.”

Khan, currently serving a 14-year sentence on corruption charges he has consistently denied, has been held for nearly two years. His wife, Bushra Bibi, is also serving a seven-year sentence, with reports suggesting she is “gravely unwell.” Both have maintained their innocence, and their family and supporters continue to describe the charges as politically motivated.

‘Imran appeared healthy in March’

Earlier in March, Khan’s sister Aleem Khan PTI said he is in good health and has no intention of agreeing to any “deals,” after she visited him in Adiala Jail back then. She was accompanied by PTI chairman Barrister Gohar and lawyer Barrister Salman Safdar. Aleema said Khan appeared healthy and cheerful, with no ear or other health issues, dismissing social media rumours, including claims of a brain infection, as false and politically motivated. She urged an investigation into those spreading such misinformation. Aleema added that all of Khan’s hearings had been postponed and this was her first meeting with him in a week. Prior to this, a four-member medical team from the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences, led by ENT specialist Dr Altaf Hussain, examined Khan in jail as part of a routine health check-up.