On Tuesday, 18th August, Pakistan’s Supreme Court ordered the immediate transfer of former Prime Minister Imran Khan from Adiala Jail to a private hospital in Islamabad for medical treatment. The 73-year-old Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder will be shifted to Shifa International Hospital within 48 hours and will remain there until 16th September, when the matter is scheduled to come up again.
The court also ordered the formation of a medical board to assess Khan’s medical condition. The board will include his personal doctor and his sister, Dr Aleema Khan. The court rejected objections from the government and also directed that Khan’s family be allowed to meet him at the hospital. His lawyers said he would also be allowed to speak to his two sons, Kasim and Sulaiman, who live in the UK.
The Supreme Court of Pakistan ordered that former Prime Minister Imran Khan be moved to hospital from jail, his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party said, meeting a longstanding demand of his party and family, who have been raising concerns about his health https://t.co/QZbv0ac6zY
— Reuters (@Reuters) August 18, 2026
“It is a very welcome order, and we wish it had happened sooner so his eye and general health would not have deteriorated this much,” Khan’s close aide and adviser Zulfiqar Ali Bukhari said.
One of Khan’s lawyers, Uzair Bhandari, told Al Jazeera that the court had also directed authorities to facilitate meetings between Khan and his family.
What does Imran Khan’s health report say?
The Supreme Court’s decision comes amid growing concerns over Khan’s health and repeated complaints from his family and party that they have been denied regular access to him.
Authorities at Adiala Jail said on Monday, 17th August, that Khan’s eyesight had improved significantly and was now “almost normal” after treatment. However, his family and PTI leaders questioned the claim. About six months ago, one of Khan’s lawyers had said that the former prime minister had lost nearly 85% of the vision in his right eye.
Medical records submitted before the court reportedly showed fluctuations in Khan’s blood pressure, heart palpitations and extreme mental stress. His latest blood pressure was recorded at 140/80, compared with 120/80 in February. His pulse was reportedly 54 beats per minute.
Khan’s family has complained about the conditions in which he is being held. His sister Uzma Khanum, who met him in December 2025 after a long gap, described his imprisonment as “mental torture”. Khan’s sons had also previously claimed that he was being kept in a “death cell”.
However, Rana Sanaullah, an adviser to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, told the Senate that Khan was receiving “the best available medical treatment”.
Fresh death rumours created confusion
The latest health concerns have also revived rumours about Khan’s death. On 10th August, Pakistani journalist Wajahat Saeed Khan claimed in a YouTube video that three senior military sources believed that Khan was “no longer with us”.
However, the journalist himself acknowledged that none of his sources had personally seen Khan. He repeatedly said that the claim had not been independently confirmed and expressed hope that it was not true.
Similar rumours have emerged several times during Khan’s imprisonment. In November last year, speculation about his death spread after his family and party leaders were unable to meet him. The rumours were eventually put to rest when his sister Uzma Khanum met him at Adiala Jail on 2nd December.
Another report had claimed that Imran Khan was killed inside the jail and that his body had been moved out. Pakistani authorities denied the claim and said that he was alive.
In May 2025, a fake document presented as a Pakistan Foreign Ministry press release also circulated online, falsely claiming that the government had confirmed Khan’s death in custody.
Another purported medical report circulated at the same time, claiming that Khan had been sexually assaulted in jail. The document contained inconsistencies, including a date that did not match when it began circulating. Official information also indicated that Khan’s medical examination had been conducted by doctors from the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS), rather than the hospital named in the document.
Why was Imran Khan arrested?
Imran Khan has been in prison since 5th August, 2023, after his arrest in connection with corruption cases, including the Toshakhana case involving the illegal sale of state gifts. He is also serving a 14-year sentence in the £190-million Al-Qadir Trust corruption case. His wife, Bushra Bibi, was sentenced to seven years in the same case in January 2025. Both have challenged their convictions.
Khan’s troubles began after he was removed as Pakistan’s prime minister in April 2022 following a no-confidence vote. He had become prime minister in 2018 and remained in office for nearly four years.
His first major arrest came on 9th May, 2023, triggering widespread protests and violence across Pakistan. PTI supporters attacked several military installations, leading to a major crackdown on the party. Khan was arrested again in August that year and has remained behind bars since then.
