What happened
The Supreme Court on Friday accepted a chamber appeal moved by former prime minister and PTI founder Imran Khan and ordered early fixation of his case before an apex court bench, clearing the objections that had held it up.
Advocate Uzair Karamat Bhandari appeared before the chamber of Chief Justice of Pakistan Yahya Afridi to plead the case. The Registrar’s Office objections were removed after being declared null and void, and the office was ordered to assign a case number to Khan’s petition. The counsel was also directed to furnish a signed power of attorney.
The chamber appeal challenged the SC Registrar’s order returning petitions that sought Khan’s transfer to Shifa International Hospital, Islamabad, access to his personal physicians and family, and the provision of medical details to his family. The court also ordered that the petition moved by Dr Uzma Khan, Khan’s sister, be heard along with the case.
The petitions
According to Dawn, the petition sought to convert the present petition into an appeal and direct that a medical examination of the petitioner be arranged by doctors, including his own physicians. It also sought his immediate transfer to Shifa International Hospital for treatment and a comprehensive medical examination, along with continued access to his physicians, family members and counsel during his incarceration and treatment.
Dr Uzma had separately challenged before the Supreme Court the Islamabad High Court’s ruling refusing to allow Khan’s transfer to Shifa, access to his physicians and family, and the provision of medical details to the family.
Khan has been imprisoned since 5 August 2023 and is serving a 14-year sentence at Rawalpindi’s Adiala jail in the £190 million corruption case, also known as the Al-Qadir Trust case. His eye ailment, right central retinal vein occlusion, came to light in late January and he receives government-provided treatment.
Why it matters
The decision clears a procedural hurdle that had kept Khan’s medical petitions from reaching a bench and sets up a fresh judicial examination of his treatment and access to personal physicians while in custody.
The government and the opposition have traded blame over the issue, with the opposition accusing the government of a lack of transparency and of not allowing Khan’s personal physicians access to him. The government denies the allegations.
Related: Supreme Court returned an earlier PTI plea to move Imran Khan to Shifa hospital.
Sources & reporting notes
This is a summary of published reporting, not independent reporting. Details are as carried by the cited sources, which were reviewed on 31 July 2026.
- Dawn — "Supreme Court accepts PTI founder's chamber appeal, orders fixation of case before bench"31 July 2026 · The chamber appeal, the removal of the registrar's objections, the orders on early fixation and Dr Uzma Khan's petition.
