THE family and opposition party of imprisoned Pakistani former prime minister Imran Khan accused authorities of violating a Supreme Court order by taking him to a government hospital for a medical examination instead of a private hospital designated by the court.

His sister Uzma Khan today told a news conference she was present at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences, a government-run hospital in Islamabad, when Mr Khan was brought there overnight.

Mr Khan’s personal physician, Faisal Sultan, said he had been escorted to Shifa International Hospital, where he waited for Mr Khan until early today. He said he was eventually told that Mr Khan had returned to Adiala prison in the garrison city of Rawalpindi.

The accounts came hours after Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said Mr Khan had been returned to prison after doctors examined him and found him medically fit.

Mr Tarar said authorities took the former cricket star-turned-politician to the public hospital over security concerns. 

He claimed Mr Khan was found to be in good health.

Dozens of journalists gathered outside the private hospital overnight after Khan’s party said he was being taken there. Authorities deployed heavy security around the facility.

Uzma said that during a meeting with her, Mr Khan complained that he had been kept in solitary confinement, which she said amounted to mental torture for him.

Suhail Afridi, a senior leader of Mr Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party (PTI), also accused the government of violating the order by taking Mr Khan to the public hospital.

The Supreme Court ordered on Tuesday that he be examined at Shifa International Hospital by a medical board that included specialists and one of his personal physicians. 

Mr Khan was ousted in a parliamentary no-confidence vote in April 2022 and has been imprisoned since 2023 after being convicted in multiple cases.