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Pakistan’s Federal Constitutional Court (FCC) on Tuesday sought the record of cases linked to the transfer of jailed former prime minister Imran Khan to a private hospital for treatment from the Supreme Court.
The court also sought records of any similar matter taken up by high courts across the country.
The development came as a three-member bench, headed by FCC Chief Justice Aminuddin Khan and comprising Justices Ali Baqar Najafi and Aamer Farooq, heard an appeal by three Adiala jail prisoners who sought the treatment and facilities offered to Khan.
They cited the order by the Supreme Court, which last month directed the authorities to move Khan to private Shifa International Hospital.
On the Supreme Court’s order, Khan was taken to the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) by the authorities instead of private Shifa International Hospital on the pretext of security. The FCC cited Article 175-E of the Constitution to seek records of any similar matter taken up by high courts. The article was added to the Constitution through the 27th Constitutional Amendment and empowers the FCC to call for the record of any case and decide matters involving major questions of constitutional law.
The three inmates, Muhammad Ilyas Khan, Mohammad Ismail Hussain and Owais Altaf, had initially moved the Islamabad High Court (IHC), seeking relief after the apex court’s August 18 order.
The petitions were dismissed on August 31 after the IHC ruled that a prisoner had no legal right to be transferred to a private hospital of his choice and the primary responsibility for prisoners’ treatment rested with the state’s administrative structure and government hospitals.
Subsequently, the inmates approached the FCC last week to challenge the IHC order.
The petition states that Article 25 of the Constitution mandates equal treatment for all citizens, and when the August 18 apex court order was still in force, the three petitioners should also be granted the same treatment as ordered for Khan, including a facility to talk to family members abroad through WhatsApp.
Khan was allowed by the court to talk to his sons on WhatsApp.
Khan has been incarcerated since August 5, 2023, and his supporters allege that his health has deteriorated due to lack of proper health care, a charge rejected by the jail authorities.
The court also sought records of any similar matter taken up by high courts across the country.
The development came as a three-member bench, headed by FCC Chief Justice Aminuddin Khan and comprising Justices Ali Baqar Najafi and Aamer Farooq, heard an appeal by three Adiala jail prisoners who sought the treatment and facilities offered to Khan.
They cited the order by the Supreme Court, which last month directed the authorities to move Khan to private Shifa International Hospital.
On the Supreme Court’s order, Khan was taken to the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) by the authorities instead of private Shifa International Hospital on the pretext of security. The FCC cited Article 175-E of the Constitution to seek records of any similar matter taken up by high courts. The article was added to the Constitution through the 27th Constitutional Amendment and empowers the FCC to call for the record of any case and decide matters involving major questions of constitutional law.
The three inmates, Muhammad Ilyas Khan, Mohammad Ismail Hussain and Owais Altaf, had initially moved the Islamabad High Court (IHC), seeking relief after the apex court’s August 18 order.
The petitions were dismissed on August 31 after the IHC ruled that a prisoner had no legal right to be transferred to a private hospital of his choice and the primary responsibility for prisoners’ treatment rested with the state’s administrative structure and government hospitals.
Subsequently, the inmates approached the FCC last week to challenge the IHC order.
The petition states that Article 25 of the Constitution mandates equal treatment for all citizens, and when the August 18 apex court order was still in force, the three petitioners should also be granted the same treatment as ordered for Khan, including a facility to talk to family members abroad through WhatsApp.
Khan was allowed by the court to talk to his sons on WhatsApp.
Khan has been incarcerated since August 5, 2023, and his supporters allege that his health has deteriorated due to lack of proper health care, a charge rejected by the jail authorities.
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