Islamabad. Pakistan's former Prime Minister Imran Khan was briefly taken to hospital, declared medically fit and sent back to prison within a few hours early on Friday, a surprise move that his supporters and party said violated a top court directive.
The former premier's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party said it would file a contempt petition against what it termed a blatant violation of the Supreme Court order from earlier this week that, according to the party's interpretation, meant Khan should remain under medical supervision until at least mid-September.
Khan said he was being tortured "repeatedly" in prison, his sister, Uzma Khan, who was present during his medical examination early on Friday, told reporters at a conference.
There was no immediate response from spokespersons for the interior and law ministries as well as from jail authorities to a request for comment from Reuters on Khan's allegations of torture.
Public perception that the highly popular Khan was moved back to prison forcefully by authorities could spark new outrage among his supporters and potentially escalate tensions and street protests.
'Contempt of the judges'
Khan was examined at the state-run Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences hospital, rather than the private Shifa International Hospital mentioned by the court, due to a "security situation created by PTI workers" along the planned route, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said on X.
The change in venue and the fact that Khan was not given access to his personal physician as mandated by the court, both counted as violation of the court's order, his party said.
"This is contempt of the judges. This is contempt of the Supreme Court," Sohail Afridi, the chief minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, which is ruled by the PTI, told reporters at the conference, a few hours after Khan had returned to jail.
Khan, who has been in prison since August 2023, had a patch on one eye, but seemed stable and fit, his sister said.
The cricketer-turned-politician's supporters lined the streets of the capital Islamabad overnight, showering flowers on the vehicle widely believed to be carrying him to the hospital.
Aired live on Pakistani television, the images stood in stark contrast to how the country's broadcasters had covered Khan in recent years, tending to not even cite the ousted leader's name until Thursday night.
"After what happened yesterday, the pressure (on authorities) will double," Afridi said, adding that preparations for a protest march planned on September 27 had picked up.
Three years in prison
Senior PTI members had expected Khan to remain hospitalized at least for several weeks after he was allowed to leave prison to have his health checked for the first time since February.
But Pakistan's Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Tariq Fazal Chaudhry told ARY News on Thursday that "if doctors decide that his treatment at the hospital is necessary, he will be admitted. If they opine that he can be treated in jail, he will be sent back."
"A team of qualified doctors, including an ophthalmologist, a cardiologist and a physician conducted a detailed examination of him and declared him medically fit," Tarar said on Friday morning.
In its order on Tuesday, the Supreme Court told authorities to transfer Khan to the Shifa International Hospital in Islamabad within two days and allow him access to a medical panel that includes his personal physician.
Khan was transferred back to Adiala jail in the garrison city of Rawalpindi at 5 a.m. (0000 GMT), Tarar said.
Khan has been imprisoned there since 2023. He says the cases against him are politically motivated, an accusation the government denies.
His lawyers say his health has deteriorated in prison and that he has lost significant vision in his right eye. The government has said medical reports have disclosed no condition requiring immediate treatment.
