Adiala Inmates Seek Private Hospital Care After Imran Khan Ruling
Three prisoners held at Rawalpindi's Adiala jail have approached the Islamabad High Court seeking treatment at private hospitals, bringing renewed attention to prisoners' medical rights following the Supreme Court's recent directions concerning former prime minister Imran Khan. The petitions were taken up in Islamabad as the legal dispute over access to private medical care for people in custody continues to develop.
The applications were filed by Ilyas Khan, Muhammad Ismail Khan and Owais Altaf. Justice Muhammad Asif sought comments from the Adiala jail superintendent and issued notices to prison authorities before adjourning the proceedings until August 27. The cases place before the court questions about when a prisoner may receive treatment outside the government health system and who should determine whether specialised care is necessary.
Counsel representing Muhammad Ismail Khan told the court that his client suffers from haemophilia and had experienced internal bleeding. The lawyer said the prisoner had been taken to hospital repeatedly during the previous two months but his condition had not improved, and argued that treatment required for his condition was available at Shifa International Hospital. He asked the court to consider an independent medical assessment of the available treatment options.
Owais Altaf also sought private medical care, with his lawyer telling the court that the prisoner was suffering from fever and a heart-related condition. The petition maintained that appropriate treatment was not available to him at a government facility and requested his transfer to Shifa International Hospital. The court has not yet issued a final ruling on the requests.
The petitions come days after the Supreme Court ordered authorities to transfer PTI founder Imran Khan from Adiala jail to Shifa International Hospital for medical examination and treatment. The former prime minister was subsequently taken instead to the state-run Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences before being returned to prison, prompting PTI to accuse the government of failing to comply with the court's directions and to pursue contempt proceedings.
The federal government has argued in its legal challenge to the Supreme Court's order that allowing prisoners to obtain treatment at private hospitals could create wider implications for the prison system. Officials have maintained that established prison procedures generally rely on government medical facilities unless specialist treatment is unavailable, while PTI and Khan's representatives have argued that the court's specific directions should be implemented.
The new petitions demonstrate how the Supreme Court's decision in Khan's case may influence requests from other inmates seeking comparable relief. Lawyers for the prisoners are relying on the principle that detention does not remove a person's entitlement to necessary healthcare, particularly where specialised treatment may not be accessible within the existing prison or public hospital system. The government, meanwhile, has raised concerns about how such requests should be handled consistently across the country's prisons.
The Islamabad High Court is expected to examine the prison authorities' responses when the cases return on August 27. Its handling of the petitions could provide further guidance on the circumstances in which inmates may be transferred to private hospitals, while the separate legal battle over Imran Khan's treatment remains before the higher courts. The issue is likely to remain politically significant because Khan's medical care has become a major point of confrontation between PTI and the federal government.