Pakistan Government Challenges Court Order Moving Imran Khan to Hospital — While Complying With It

Pakistan's government transferred former PM Imran Khan, 73, from Adiala Jail to Shifa International Hospital on 20 August 2026 under a Supreme Court order citing blood-pressure concerns. Yet the government simultaneously filed a petition challenging the order, objecting to a private facility over a public one. The court directed a medical board including Khan's personal physician to examine him. Khan, jailed since August 2023 on corruption convictions he calls politically motivated, must remain hospitalised until at least his 16 September hearing. The clash between executive compliance and judicial challenge underscores recurring friction between Pakistan's government and its courts over Khan's detention.