What happened
The Supreme Court on Friday 27 February 2026 returned with objections a petition filed by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) seeking the transfer of party founder and former prime minister Imran Khan from Adiala jail to Shifa International Hospital in Islamabad for treatment of his eye condition.
PTI lawyers Sardar Latif Khosa and Naeem Panjutha appeared before a bench headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan Yahya Afridi and asked for the application to be fixed for hearing. The chief justice told them the plea had already been returned with objections a day earlier. “Your petitions will remain pending until further orders. You have no such petition pending on which proceedings can be conducted,” CJP Afridi said, according to Dawn.
Khosa argued that the court had previously ordered medical treatment for the PTI founder, but the chief justice said the court had not issued such an order and that it was the government which had given an assurance. CJP Afridi told the counsel that the health issue was no longer pending before the court and directed him to obtain a copy of the objections from the Supreme Court registrar.
The application, filed on 25 February under Order XXXV Rule 6 of the Supreme Court Rules 2025, sought Imran’s immediate shift to Shifa International Hospital for specialised treatment by a retina specialist. It also asked that his personal physicians, Dr Faisal Sultan and Dr Aasim Yusuf, be associated with his examinations, that family members be present during treatment, and that his counsel receive attested copies of medical reports. The registrar’s office said that, under the court’s 12 February order, any grievance should be taken to the Islamabad High Court, where his appeal is pending adjudication.
Separately, PTI chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan met the chief justice to request a judicial order on Imran’s medical treatment. Sources told Dawn he was informed that the Supreme Court would not intervene while related cases were pending before the IHC.
Why it matters
The outcome keeps the question of Imran Khan’s medical care before the courts while pushing the immediate forum back to the Islamabad High Court, where his sentence-suspension pleas in the £190 million corruption case have been fixed for hearing on 11 March. The IHC is also hearing objections in the Toshakhana-II case appeals filed by Imran and his wife, Bushra Bibi.
Imran, 73, has been in custody since August 2023 and is serving a 14-year sentence in the £190 million case. His party has intensified calls for his release after a medical report submitted to the court said vision in his right eye had dropped to 15 per cent following a diagnosis of right central retinal vein occlusion in late January. He was taken to the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences for a follow-up on 24 February, which the PTI criticised as conducted in “secrecy” without notice to his family or independent doctors. Government officials say he is receiving appropriate medical care.
What is still uncertain
It remains unclear whether the PTI will refile the application in the Islamabad High Court or challenge the registrar’s objections before the Supreme Court, and whether Imran will receive treatment from a retina specialist of his party’s choosing. The date and scope of the next medical examination had not been settled, and the government had not said when it would share the reports the PTI has demanded.
Sources & reporting notes
This is a synthesis of published material, not eyewitness reporting. Sources were reviewed on 27 February 2026.
- Dawn — "SC objects to PTI's plea seeking Imran's transfer to hospital of his choice"Published 27 Feb 2026 · The petition's return with objections, CJP Yahya Afridi's exchange with Latif Khosa and Naeem Panjutha, the 25 February filing under Order XXXV Rule 6, the 12 February order directing the grievance to the IHC, and PTI chairman Gohar Ali Khan's meeting with the chief justice.
- The Express Tribune — "SC returns petition seeking Imran's transfer to hospital"Published 27 Feb 2026 · The return of the petition, the request for Shifa International Hospital and a retina specialist, access for Dr Faisal Sultan and Dr Asim Yousaf, Imran's custody since August 2023, and the 15 per cent vision report.
