Following Imran Khan‘s declining health, the Supreme Court of Pakistan on Monday ordered the Rawalpindi jail to transfer the former prime minister and World Cup-winning captain to the hospital. This is a significant development.
After being found guilty in several high-profile legal and corruption matters, the 72-year-old was imprisoned in August 2023 after being dismissed from his position as Pakistan’s prime minister in April 2022.
However, the top Pakistani court ruled in Imran’s favour following numerous appeals from his family and the workers of his party, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf.
الحمدللہ ،اللہ تعالی کے فضل اور آپ سب کی جدوجہد سے پہلی منزل طے ہوئی اب اگلی منزل رہائی ہے ،انشاء اللہ اللہ تعالی سرخروع کرے گا pic.twitter.com/7FGVFdKeiB
— Naeem Haider Panjutha (@NaeemPanjuthaa) August 18, 2026
The Supreme Court has mandated that Imran Khan be transferred from Rawalpindi prison to the Shifa International Hospital in Islamabad within 48 hours, according to Reuters.
According to Naeem Haider Panjutha, the former cricket player’s representative on X, he will be monitored by a group of top medical professionals until further notice. Additionally, Dr. Uzma Khanum, one of his sisters, will be permitted to interact with the 72-year-old.
Notably, it was previously stated that Imran lost sight in his right eye while incarcerated; as a result, he has seen eye doctors a few times since late January.
However, the Rawalpindi jail authorities have reported to the top court that Imran’s vision is “almost normal,” a day after the Supreme Court ordered the cricketer to be transferred to a facility in the nation’s capital.According to the jail authorities’ assessment, which was cited by NDTV World, “significant improvement of his eye has been noticed, and his vision returned to almost normal.”
A plea for Imran Khan’s release is signed by Sunil Gavaskar, Kapil Dev, and four other Indians.
About 14 previous well-known cricket players, including the Indian greats Sunil Gavaskar and Kapil Dev, had written a petition earlier in February asking for Imran Khan’s release from prison so he could receive better care as his health began to decline.
In addition to the 14 former cricket players, former Indian captain Mohammad Azharuddin and former batsman Ajay Jadeja shared their opinions on social media. Furthermore, Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis, and Shoaib Akhtar of Pakistan all discussed the same topic.
Imran Khan’s path from the cricket pitch to the political arena
Imran Khan, who played in 88 Test matches and 175 ODIs for his country, is regarded as one of the greatest all-rounders of all time and the only captain of Pakistan to win the World Cup.
Over the course of his two-decade international career, he amassed 7516 runs and claimed 544 wickets, including seven hundreds, 37 fifties, and 24 five-wicket hauls.
During the 1992 World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, Pakistan pulled off one of the biggest heists under his clever guidance, as the Men in Green defeated all odds to win the title.
The renowned cricket player became engaged in social service and then politics when his playing career ended.
In honour of his cherished mother, whom he lost to illness, Imran founded the Shaukat Khanum Memorial illness Hospital and Research Center in 1994. Prior to taking office as prime minister in 2018, he established his political party, PTI, in 1996.
