Imran hospital transfer: SC 'rejects' Uzma Khan's plea for early hearing of contempt petition

• Uzma's plea for immediate hearing not maintainable: sources.
• Cases are generally fixed according to their turn: sources.
• Uzma's contempt petition already fixed for Sep 16: sources.

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court has rejected an application by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan's sister, Dr Uzma Khan, seeking an early hearing of her contempt of court petition concerning her brother’s hospital transfer, sources said on Monday.

Dr Uzma filed a contempt plea on August 25 after the government transferred the jailed former prime minister to the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims) for a medical examination instead of Shifa International Hospital as per the top court's directives.

A hearing on the petition has been scheduled for September 16 before a three-member bench comprising Justice Shahid Waheed, Justice Naeem Akhtar Afghan and Justice Shakil Ahmed.

However, Dr Uzma filed another plea before the Supreme Court, seeking an urgent hearing of the contempt petition concerning the former prime minister's transfer to hospital.

In her application, she said Khan's health was deteriorating in jail and described the matter concerning his health and life as extremely important.

Meanwhile, sources said that the request for an immediate hearing was not maintainable, adding that the contempt petition has already been scheduled for hearing on September 16.

According to sources, cases are generally fixed according to their turn under the court's policy. They maintained that 94 contempt petitions are already pending before the Supreme Court.

Pims visit

The Supreme Court, in its August 18 order, had directed the authorities to transfer the former premier, incarcerated at Adiala Jail, to Shifa International Hospital for a medical examination.

However, he was instead taken to Pims, where doctors from Shifa International Hospital were also present, according to Information Minister Attaullah Tarar.

Khan has remained in prison since August 2023 following convictions he and his party describe as politically motivated. Since his ouster in April 2022 following a no-confidence vote, he has faced multiple legal cases.

A day after the August 18 order, the federal government filed a review petition against it in the Supreme Court. However, it was returned by the registrar's office with objections.

The Islamabad chief commissioner later filed another petition seeking an early hearing of the review petition against the court's order.

While the PTI decried the violation of the court's order regarding the party founder's transfer to Shifa International Hospital, the government defended the decision, saying the move was purely based on the security situation.