Pakistan’s Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar has said the government will seek a review of the Supreme Court’s order regarding former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s transfer to a hospital, arguing that the directive went “beyond the legal parameters”, local media reported on Wednesday.
“After reviewing the law, the authorities are of the view that this order does not fall within the legal parameters governing the facilities that can be provided to a convicted person in jail,” Tarar said in a video statement, according to the Express Tribune. Tarar said consultations had been held on certain aspects of the order involving jail authorities and the Islamabad administration, particularly the court’s direction for Imran Khan to undergo a medical examination at Shifa International Hospital.
Tarar said the government would seek an appropriate modification to the order so that Khan could instead be examined at a tertiary-care government hospital, according to the newspaper.
Tarar also said the law provided for the formation of a medical board to determine whether a prisoner’s treatment should be carried out inside or outside jail. “If prisoners are taken to private hospitals for such medical check-ups, there are thousands of prisoners across Pakistan facing various complications and illnesses,” he said. Earlier reporting noted: “This order is not within four walls of the law,” Pakistan’s Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar said in a video-recorded statement issued on Tuesday night.
He added that medical experts or specialists from other major institutions could be included in the medical board, in line with the court’s directions or as it considered appropriate. It also specified that he be given access to his personal physician. Meanwhile, Dawn said in an editorial on Wednesday that reports about Khan’s health suggested he may have been suffering from one ailment or another for several months, despite repeated denials from his jailers that he was unwell. Earlier reporting noted: Pakistani govt to challenge SC order on jailed ex-PM Imran Khan’s private hospital move The Pakistani government challenged on Wednesday a Supreme Court order to move jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan to a private hospital, a petition filed with the court showed. Earlier reporting noted: The Supreme Court order, seen by Reuters, had on Tuesday directed the government to move Khan to the private Shifa International Hospital in the capital Islamabad within two days.
