What happened
Federal ministers said on Saturday 15 February 2026 that the government had decided to shift jailed former prime minister Imran Khan to hospital and to form a medical board to oversee his condition, as an opposition sit-in over his treatment continued in Islamabad.
In a post on X, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Tariq Fazal Chaudhry said Khan had been allowed to speak to his sons on the phone and that, “considering his health, it has also been decided to shift him to the hospital and form a medical board”. He said the government “prioritises humanitarianism and legal requirements” and that it was the state’s responsibility to provide facilities to every prisoner under the law.
Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said separately on X that further examination and treatment of Khan’s eye would be carried out “by eye specialists at a specialised medical facility”, and that a detailed report would be submitted to the Supreme Court. He urged that the issue not be turned into political rhetoric or used for vested interests.
Why the decision was made
The announcements followed a report submitted earlier in the week to the Supreme Court by amicus curiae Salman Safdar, who was appointed to visit Khan at Adiala jail and report on his health. According to that report, Khan had lost 85 per cent of the vision in his right eye, which it attributed to a lack of timely medical care. Khan’s lawyer had also been granted access to him after the court’s intervention.
The opposition sit-in
The opposition alliance Tehreek-e-Tahafuz-e-Ayin-e-Pakistan (TTAP) continued its sit-in at Parliament House for a second day, with leaders and PTI MNAs and senators holding separate sit-ins at the Parliament House and the Parliament Lodges, the official residences of lawmakers, to demand immediate medical access for Khan.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi, accompanied by PTI MPAs, held a sit-in outside the KP House and was joined by former provincial chief executive Ali Amin Gandapur. Police maintained a cordon around the capital’s high-security Red Zone and locked the main gates of Parliament House, with security personnel also preventing journalists from entering to cover the protest.
Among those at the Parliament House sit-in were Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Mehmood Khan Achakzai, Senate opposition leader Allama Raja Nasir Abbas, PTI Chairman Gohar Ali Khan, Secretary General Salman Akram Raja and former National Assembly speaker Asad Qaiser. PTI’s central information secretary, Sheikh Waqas Akram, said opposition leaders had been “trapped” inside the building and that police had not allowed food to be taken in. Abbas told reporters that Parliament House had been turned into a “prison”.
The demands
PTI Chairman Gohar Ali Khan said the protest would continue until Khan received treatment from the best doctors and was shifted to Shifa International Hospital. Secretary General Salman Akram Raja said the party had received information that there was an agreement to move Khan to Shifa, with an attendant from his family allowed to stay, and asked why there had been delay if such an agreement existed.
Aleema Khan, the former prime minister’s sister, confirmed in a post on X that he had been allowed to speak with his two sons, who are based in the United Kingdom, for about 20 minutes following directions passed by Chief Justice of Pakistan Yahya Afridi. She said the family was now waiting for urgent treatment at Shifa International Hospital under the supervision of his personal doctors, warning that further delay risked permanent loss of vision.
The Parliamentary Reporters Association Pakistan said security personnel had misbehaved with journalists and barred them from Parliament House, calling it a violation of press freedom.
What remains open
The government had not announced a date for Khan’s transfer or named the members of the medical board, and it was not immediately clear whether the treatment would take place at Shifa International Hospital or another facility. The opposition said its sit-in would continue until its demands were met.
Sources & reporting notes
This article summarises published reporting, not eyewitness coverage. Sources were reviewed on 15 February 2026.
- The Nation — "Govt decides to shift Imran to hospital from jail for treatment"15 February 2026 · Reports the ministers' statements, the decision to form a medical board, the opposition sit-in and the family's demand for treatment at Shifa International Hospital.
