ISLAMABAD: The federal government has refiled its review petition challenging the Supreme Court’s order to shift PTI founder Imran Khan to Shifa International Hospital, Adviser to the Prime Minister on Political Affairs Rana Sanaullah said on Thursday, as the government awaited the court’s decision on the matter.
Speaking to journalists at Parliament House, Sanaullah said there was no fixed deadline for shifting Imran to hospital and that the government would act in accordance with the law and the court’s decision.
“The government has again filed the review petition. Let the decision on the review petition come. This will make things clear,” he said, adding that the court could decide the matter “today or tomorrow.”
The Supreme Court had on Tuesday ordered that Imran Khan be shifted to Shifa International Hospital within two days for examination and treatment. The deadline was due to expire on Thursday night.
The government had earlier filed a review petition against the order, arguing that it exceeded the court’s jurisdiction and overlooked the procedure under the Pakistan Prison Rules for transferring prisoners to hospital.
Sources said the Supreme Court Registrar’s Office returned the review petition on Thursday after raising objections, including that the accompanying paper books were incomplete. The government subsequently refiled the petition after addressing the objections.
Sanaullah said the government was concerned about the wider implications of the Supreme Court’s order for the criminal justice system, questioning whether similar directions could lead to other prisoners being shifted to private hospitals.
Govt may consider treatment abroad for Imran: Tariq Fazal
Federal Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Tariq Fazal Chaudhry told the Senate that the government was bound to implement the court’s order. He said Imran would be shifted to Shifa International Hospital if the required treatment could not be provided at a government hospital, while the possibility of treatment abroad also remained open.
PTI Secretary General Salman Akram Raja, meanwhile, described Thursday as a decisive day and said the government had no option but to transfer Imran to hospital after the Registrar’s Office raised objections to its review petition.
( Monitoring Desk)
