Islamabad [Pakistan], August 21 (ANI): In compliance with a top court directive, former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan was transferred from Rawalpindi's Adiala Jail to Shifa International Hospital in Islamabad in the early hours of Friday under tight security protocols, local media outlet Dawn reported.
The transfer follows a ruling by Pakistan's Supreme Court ordering the government to move the incarcerated Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder to the capital's private facility within two days for a comprehensive medical evaluation and care.
Khan has been incarcerated since 2023, serving a 14-year sentence linked to the Toshakhana case at Rawalpindi's Adiala Jail.
As per the Pakistani outlet, after Khan arrived at the hospital, Islamabad Inspector General of Police (IGP) Syed Ali Nasir Rizvi visited the medical facility to review the security arrangements. He had also visited the hospital on Thursday night to oversee preparations for the PTI founder's arrival.
Citing sources familiar with the matter, Dawn reported that the representatives of the relevant departments and authorities, including the capital administration, police, jail officials and Rangers, were present at the hospital to finalise security and other arrangements.
More than 800 personnel from various law enforcement units were deployed to secure the facility and its surroundings. Dedicated teams formed to handle the transit comprised personnel drawn from both the capital police and the city administration.
It was also noted that teams were constituted to bring Imran to the hospital from jail, comprising personnel from the capital police and administration.
Reacting to the development, former Pakistani President Arif Alvi on X expressed optimism over Khan's transfer to the hospital, describing the court-mandated move as a "beginning of real justice finally taking its course".
الحمدللہ
Time to rejoice.
For three years we have watched him endure isolation that would break most men. Cut off from newspapers, from books, from his family, from the country to which he gave everything. Tonight, finally, a door has opened. Prayers. Endless prayers. For his…
"For three years we have watched him endure isolation that would break most men. Cut off from newspapers, from books, from his family, from the country to which he gave everything. Tonight, finally, a door has opened. Prayers. Endless prayers. For his health, for his strength, for his full and complete recovery," he said.
"Those who know him, as I have for over 35 years, also know this about him: he is not vindictive. He does not carry hatred in his heart, even toward those who have wronged him. That has always been his strength, and it will be Pakistan's strength too, if we let it. This country does not need more anger. It needs peace. It needs healing," he added.
Party leadership also called upon PTI supporters to maintain calm and refrain from assembling outside the hospital to ensure that medical procedures can be carried out without disruption.
The Supreme Court's ruling came a day after the superintendent of Adiala Jail, where Khan was incarcerated, submitted a report to the court on the ex-premier's health condition.
However, Dawn reported that an annexure to the report stated that Dr Akhtar Ali Bandeshah of Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) examined him earlier on August 1, and noted complaints of uncontrolled and fluctuating blood pressure, palpitations, headache, and restlessness.
As per the outlet, the ex-premier had attributed his symptoms and stress partly to infrequent meetings with his wife, family, and social contacts, as well as the absence of newspapers and TV. (ANI)
