FCC Questions Imran Khan’s Private Hospital Relief, Seeks Prisoner Records Nationwide
ISLAMABAD, PAKISTAN — WEB DESK: Pakistan’s Federal Constitutional Court has sought records concerning prisoners receiving treatment at private hospitals across the country as it examines appeals by three Adiala Jail inmates demanding medical facilities similar to those ordered for former prime minister Imran Khan.
The case stems from an August 18 interim order of the Supreme Court directing authorities to transfer the incarcerated PTI founder to Shifa International Hospital in Islamabad for medical assessment and treatment by a multidisciplinary medical board. The order also allowed his personal physician and sister to remain associated with his care.
The Supreme Court had further directed the government to submit Imran Khan’s complete medical record from the date of his arrest, including tests, prescriptions, medical opinions and details of treatment. The cost of treatment and related facilities at the private hospital was to be borne by Khan or his family.
The issue has now reached the Federal Constitutional Court because three other inmates of Adiala Jail are seeking comparable treatment.
The prisoners challenged an Islamabad High Court decision and argued that Article 25 of the Constitution, which concerns equality of citizens, entitled them to medical facilities comparable to those granted to Imran Khan. They have also sought permission to communicate with relatives living abroad through WhatsApp.
A three-member FCC bench headed by Chief Justice Aminuddin Khan, and including Justices Aamer Farooq and Ali Baqar Najafi, has been hearing the appeals.
During Monday’s proceedings, Justice Aamer Farooq questioned why the inmates required treatment at a private hospital instead of government institutions such as PIMS or Polyclinic, observing that private hospital treatment was contrary to the jail manual.
Justice Ali Baqar Najafi also raised the issue of uniform application of prison rules, noting the petitioners’ argument that separate standards should not apply to different prisoners.
The latest Express report says the FCC has now sought wider records from across the country, including material relating to the Supreme Court proceedings, as it considers the legal implications of granting private medical treatment to prisoners.
The dispute has acquired broader constitutional significance because the petitioners are effectively asking whether exceptional medical arrangements ordered for one prisoner must also be available to similarly situated inmates.
The government has previously challenged the Supreme Court’s interim order concerning Imran Khan. It filed a review petition describing the direction to transfer him to a private hospital as discriminatory and arguing that it conflicted with applicable prison rules.
The Supreme Court’s August order, however, was expressly described as an interim arrangement, with questions concerning maintainability and other objections left for subsequent consideration.
Separately, an Adiala Jail report submitted to the Supreme Court in August said Khan had undergone examinations by 39 medical specialists between November 4, 2023 and August 10, 2026, and that his health was being regularly monitored.
The FCC proceedings therefore do not currently establish that every Pakistani prisoner has a legal right to treatment at a private hospital. That is effectively part of the issue the court is being asked to consider.
The outcome could have implications beyond Imran Khan and the three petitioners by clarifying how principles of equal treatment interact with prison regulations and judicially ordered medical care.
