New Delhi, August 21, 2026: Former Pakistan Prime Minister and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan was shifted from Adiala Jail to Shifa International Hospital in Islamabad early Friday for a medical examination, following a directive from Pakistan’s Supreme Court.

The PTI had been demanding that Khan receive a comprehensive medical examination, with his family and supporters raising concerns about his health during his prolonged imprisonment.

Later, Reuters, citing a television channel, reported that Khan had been taken back to Adiala Jail after his medical examination. However, there was no immediate official confirmation of his return to prison.

Khan has been imprisoned since August 2023 and is currently serving a 14-year sentence in the £190 million Al-Qadir Trust corruption case. He has also faced convictions in several other cases, including cases relating to state gifts and the disclosure of a diplomatic cable.

Supreme Court orders medical examination

Khan’s transfer to the hospital came after Pakistan’s Supreme Court on Tuesday directed authorities to move him to Shifa International Hospital within 48 hours.

The court also ordered that Khan be examined by a medical panel that includes his personal physician. It further directed jail authorities to ensure that he is allowed weekly meetings with his family.

Following Khan’s arrival at the hospital, Islamabad Inspector General of Police Syed Ali Nasir Rizvi visited the facility to review security arrangements. Rizvi had also visited the hospital on Thursday night ahead of Khan’s expected arrival.

According to reports, more than 800 personnel from various law-enforcement agencies were deployed in the area as part of heightened security arrangements.

The chief commissioner is expected to designate the relevant room, ward or floor of the hospital as a sub-jail through a formal notification. Prison officials from Adiala Jail will also remain stationed at the hospital to maintain security during Khan’s stay.

Concerns over Khan’s health

Concerns about Imran Khan’s health intensified in late January after his family claimed that he had lost around 85 per cent of the vision in his right eye.

The Pakistani government disputed the claim. Authorities later said that Khan’s eyesight had improved by around 70 per cent and that his overall health was recovering.

Khan’s supporters have repeatedly demanded access to independent medical care and examinations, particularly because he has remained in prison for nearly three years.

Multiple cases against Imran Khan

Imran Khan has said that more than 100 cases have been registered against him.

Prosecutors allege that Khan and his wife, Bushra Bibi, received land worth up to 7 billion Pakistani rupees through the Al-Qadir Trust, which they established in 2018.

According to the prosecution, the land was allegedly provided by a property developer who was facing money-laundering proceedings in Britain. The case is linked to the repatriation of £190 million recovered by British authorities.

Khan and his supporters have denied wrongdoing and have repeatedly described the cases against him as politically motivated.

Cipher case

Khan was convicted in 2024 and sentenced to 10 years in prison in the diplomatic cipher case for publicly disclosing a confidential cable sent by Pakistan’s ambassador in Washington in 2022.

The conviction was later overturned.

Khan had maintained that the diplomatic cable supported his allegation that Pakistan’s military and the United States had been involved in a conspiracy to remove his government after his visit to Moscow shortly before Russia invaded Ukraine.

Marriage and Toshakhana cases

In February 2024, a trial court sentenced Imran Khan and Bushra Bibi to seven years in prison after ruling that their 2018 marriage violated Islamic law because the required waiting period, or iddat, had allegedly not been completed.

A court later overturned the conviction and acquitted the couple in July 2024.

Khan was initially sentenced to three years in prison in 2023 for allegedly selling state gifts worth more than 140 million Pakistani rupees that he had received while serving as prime minister between 2018 and 2022. The sentence was subsequently suspended.

In January 2024, an anti-corruption court sentenced Khan and Bushra Bibi to 14 years in prison in a related Toshakhana case. Khan has denied the allegations and has called the proceedings politically motivated.

PTI plans September 27 protest

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Information Minister Shafi Jan said that the PTI’s planned long march towards Islamabad on September 27 remains unchanged.

He said the party is still prepared to engage in negotiations and political dialogue but would not reconsider the protest unless there is “tangible and credible progress” on its key demands.

Jan said that nothing was more important than Imran Khan’s health.

He also said the planned protest was not intended to create a confrontation but to seek the PTI’s constitutional, legal and political rights.

According to Jan, the PTI has not formally launched a protest movement since November 26, but restrictions on the party’s political activities have continued to tighten rather than ease.

Imran Khan’s latest hospital transfer and subsequent return to Adiala Jail come amid renewed political and legal pressure on the former prime minister, whose continued imprisonment remains a central issue for the PTI and its supporters.