Islamabad, August 12, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) staged a protest outside the Supreme Court over concerns regarding the health of its founder and former Prime Minister Imran Khan and delays in the hearing of his pending cases, according to local media reports.
The protest was later called off after the court registrar assured PTI leaders that the cases would be listed for hearing next week. The party had also sought early hearings in Khan’s cases and permission for him to meet his family members and personal doctors, Dawn reported.
During Tuesday’s protest, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi expressed concern over reports about Khan’s health and said people across Pakistan were worried about the former premier’s well-being.
“We neither politicise Imran Khan’s health, nor has Imran Khan ever raised the issue of his health with the objective of seeking any form of relief,” Afridi said.
He called for Khan’s medical treatment to be conducted under the supervision of his personal physicians and in the presence of his family. Afridi also recalled that Khan, during his tenure as Prime Minister, had allowed former premier Nawaz Sharif to travel abroad for medical treatment despite questions over his medical certificates.
Afridi said Khan was being denied fundamental human rights and access to justice, describing the situation as “completely unacceptable”.
Khan has been imprisoned since August 2023 following convictions that PTI has described as politically motivated. Since his removal as Prime Minister through a no-confidence vote in 2022, he has faced several cases, including those concerning state gifts and an unlawful marriage.
PTI had also organised nationwide protests on August 5 to mark three years of Khan’s imprisonment. Afridi subsequently announced that the party would march towards Islamabad on September 27 if restrictions on Khan were not lifted.
The party’s demands include unrestricted meetings with Khan, access to treatment from his personal physician and expeditious hearings of his cases, Afridi said while addressing a gathering in Peshawar.
Meanwhile, UN Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment Alice Jill Edwards last month raised concerns over Khan’s detention conditions and reported lack of adequate medical care.
In a LinkedIn post, Edwards said Khan had allegedly been held in near-total solitary confinement for 33 months in a small, windowless cell and was at times denied exercise and meaningful human contact for more than two weeks.
She also expressed concern over reports that Khan was suffering from serious medical problems that had not been adequately treated, including issues related to a spinal injury from a 2013 accident and injuries sustained in a November 2022 assassination attempt.
Edwards called on Pakistan to restore humane detention conditions and allow Khan access to medical examination and treatment of his choice.
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