ISLAMABAD: Chief Justice of Pakistan Yahya Afridi on Friday informed Sardar Latif Khosa, senior counsel for Imran Khan, to approach the Supreme Court registrar to get a copy of the objections to his petition seeking Mr Khan’s transfer to hospital.
The application was filed on Feb 25, pursuant to Order XXXV Rule 6 of the Supreme Court Rules 2025, after Mr Khan underwent government-facilitated follow-up eye treatment.
When Mr Khosa and Advocate Naeem Panjotha appeared before CJP Afridi on Friday seeking that the matter be fixed early, the lawyers were informed the “application was returned with objections a day earlier”.
Mr Khosa questioned why nobody informed them if the order had been issued a day earlier.
CJP Afridi tells PTI lawyer to approach court if he doesn’t get copy of objections
The chief justice told the PTI lawyers, “Your petitions will remain pending until further orders. There is no such application at the moment, on which proceedings can be held.”
The counsel said he had requested for an early hearing, while the court had ordered the former premier’s treatment. At this, CJP Afridi said the court had not issued an order, rather it was the government that had given assurances to the court for his treatment. “You should read the court’s decision again, as the health issue is not pending,” the chief justice maintained.
When Mr Khosa attempted to clarify that the transfer application was made “not on legal or political basis, but humanitarian grounds”, CJP Afridi held the former premier’s recent medical check-up was carried out on “humanitarian grounds”.
“Please try to understand what I am saying,” Mr Khosa insisted. At this, Justice Shahid Bilal Hassan remarked, “I have known you since 1992. I understand everything you are saying”.
“Khosa sahib, you are a senior lawyer. You understand the procedure,” the CJP said, directing him to see the SC registrar first. He added, “If the SC registrar does not give a copy of the objections, then you may come to court.”
Sources said PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan also met CJP Afridi and sought the transfer of the incarcerated former premier to a hospital, citing family and party concerns about his health. He was told that SC would not interfere while his cases remained pending before the Islamabad High Court (IHC).
Mr Khan’s health has been garnering attention in recent days, with his family and party raising concerns over the reports about his right central retinal vein occlusion. According to a doctor at Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims), Mr Khan was brought to the hospital for follow-up treatment on Feb 24 and discharged afterwards. However, his party took exception to the “secrecy” regarding the treatment.
Meanwhile, an application filed on behalf of Mr Khan named the Islamabad district election commissioner as the respondent, as it invoked the Toshakhana case in which the PTI founder was first arrested on Aug 5, 2023.
The application, a copy of which is available with Dawn, had requested the SC that Mr Khan be “immediately shifted to Shifa International Hospital, Islamabad, for proper treatment of his eyes from [a] retina specialist”.
The plea also sought Imran’s access to his personal physicians Dr Faisal Sultan and Dr Aasim Yusuf, “who may be associated with all the procedures of examination and treatment”.
Published in Dawn, February 28th, 2026
