ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court will take up on Sept 16 a contempt of court petition filed by Dr Uzma Khan, accusing the government of violating its Aug 18 order directing the shifting of incarcerated PTI founder Imran Khan to Shifa International Hospital, Islamabad.
September 16 is the date originally fixed for a three-judge SC bench, led by Justice Shahid Waheed and comprising Justice Naeem Akhtar Afghan and Justice Ishtiaq Ibrahim, to resume hearing pending cases concerning the former premier’s health and family meetings.
The same bench had, on Aug 18, ordered the shifting of Imran Khan to Shifa International Hospital while hearing several petitions. It had also directed that Dr Uzma Khan and Dr Faisal Sultan, Imran Khan’s personal physician, be present during his medical examination by a medical board.
As the same three-judge bench is available on Sept 16, the contempt petition is expected to be taken up along with the other related cases. However, it is not clear whether the bench will also hear the review petition filed by the Islamabad chief commissioner challenging the direction to shift the incarcerated former premier to a private hospital.
Party resubmits petition after addressing registrar office objections
An informed source told Dawn that early fixation of the contempt petition had not been possible because 94 criminal original petitions of the same category were pending before different Supreme Court benches.
Under the policy, cases are required to be fixed for hearing according to their turn in the relevant category.
The source said it was unlikely that the contempt petition’s turn would come soon. However, since the main case concerning Imran Khan’s health is already fixed for Sept 16, the contempt petition is also expected to be taken up on the same date.
Earlier on Tuesday morning, Dr Uzma re-submitted the contempt petition before the Supreme Court after the court office had returned it earlier in the day with certain objections. She also filed an application seeking early fixation of the case.
The application pleaded with the court to proceed with the contempt case against the government at the earliest in the interest of justice, protection of life and health, and enforcement of the SC’s August 18 order directing the shifting of Imran Khan to Shifa International Hospital.
Earlier in the day, Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan told the media that he had been informed by the Supreme Court registrar, who had come to the facilitation centre inside the Supreme Court premises, that the contempt petition was being returned because of office objections.
One objection was that copies of the contempt petition and notices to the respondents, including Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, had not been dispatched to them.
Dr Uzma named Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar, Interior Secretary Ahmed Raza Sarwar, Inspector General Prisons, Punjab, Mian Salik Jalal, Islamabad Chief Commissioner Lt (retd) Sohail Ashraf, and Adiala jail superintendent Sajid Baig, as respondents.
The petition has now been re-submitted after the office objections were removed.
On August 18, the three-judge Supreme Court bench led by Justice Shahid Waheed and comprising Justice Naeem Akhtar Afghan and Justice Ishtiaq Ibrahim had directed that Imran Khan be shifted to Shifa International Hospital while hearing several petitions concerning his health and family meetings. The court had also ordered the presence of Dr Uzma Khan and Dr Faisal Sultan during his medical examination by a medical board.
However, instead of taking him to Shifa International Hospital, the capital administration took him to a government health facility, Pims, for medical examination. He was subsequently taken back to Adiala jail within a few hours.
Published in Dawn, August 26th, 2026
