ISLAMABAD: PTI General Secretary Salman Akram Raja on Saturday accused the federal government of carrying out a “completely choreographed drama” and dishonouring the Supreme Court’s directive to transfer party founder Imran Khan to Shifa International Hospital.
Speaking to Geo News, he discussed the contempt of court petition filed by Advocate Uzair Karamat Bhandari, who represents Imran’s sister, Dr Uzma Khan, seeking to initiate contempt proceedings against those responsible for violating the SC’s Aug 18 order to shift the incarcerated premier to a private hospital in the federal capital.
The PTI secretary general emphasised that filing the petition was not a political move but “a purely legal and professional decision”.
“We have named jail administrators, the Punjab interior secretary, government officials and ministers, and the prime minister,” Raja said. “It was a professional decision taken by Dr Uzma Khan’s lawyer after taking the situation into account.”
He added that he spoke with Bhandari about the plea, who told him that it is necessary to name officeholders and the premier as parties in the case.
“The matter will be discussed in court, but regardless, the Supreme Court’s decision was not honoured. Nothing was implemented: there was no transfer to Shifa, there was no [medical] board with Dr Uzma and Dr Faisal Sultan and there was supposed to be treatment. None of this happened; there was only a few hours of drama,” Raja explained.
“There was no road closure or security threat,” he added. “A convoy departed Adiala jail and went to Shifa International, taking Dr Faisal Sultan. People thought it was Khan sahib. This is a completely choreographed drama.”
However, Raja noted that an administrative official is unable to unilaterally disregard an order from the apex court, and that the truth would expose who decided to ignore it.
Asked why Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi was not named as a party, Raja said the plea was not a party matter but a decision taken by Bhandari in his capacity as Dr Uzma’s lawyer.
“If Mohsin Naqvi is not involved in the decision-making or if there is no evidence of his involvement, then he has not been named as a party,” he responded.
“In [a case of] contempt of court, it is essential that the people whom you are accusing made the decision to disobey the court or had a part in it. Whoever they are, and if any new evidence comes forward, we can do that (name party),” Raja added, reiterating that the plea was “purely a professional decision”.
Asked if Naqvi was not named because he tried to implement the court order, Raja said neither he nor Bhandari had any knowledge of that and that upon asking the latter, he said he took the decision based on the documented evidence available.
He noted, however, that the interior secretary could take many decisions on their own, which was why Bhandari named the head of the government as a party.
Raja also rejected claims that the plea would have been heard by the court immediately had it been filed yesterday, calling them “incorrect and baseless”.
“When something is filed with the Supreme Court, it isn’t slated for hearing immediately,” he explained.
“Secondly, this incident took place at night. Dr Uzma returned at 6am and got in contact with Bhandari sahib at 9am. He got to work, but he could not file anything after 11am on a Friday. Even if it were filed, it would be heard by next week at the earliest, and it will be the same for this case.”
Contempt of court plea
The petition, moved by Advocate Bhandari, also requested the SC to depute an officer of the court or appoint a local commission to ensure that Imran was immediately shifted to Shifa International Hospital for his medical examination in accordance with the Aug 18 order.
Islamabad Chief Commissioner Islamabad, (retired) Lieutenant Sohail Ashraf, Interior Secretary Ahmed Raza Sarwar, Punjab Inspector General Prisons Mian Salik Jalal, Adiala Jail Superintendent Sajid Baig, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar and Information Minister Attaullah Tarar were named as respondents in the petition.
While all eyes were on Shifa International Hospital, a private medical facility, during the early hours of Friday, the government quietly moved Imran to the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims) for a medical check-up in, ostensibly due to security concerns, following which he was taken back to Adiala jail.
The PTI leadership and Uzma, who was present for the medical examination, had slammed the government’s conduct.
The contempt plea filed by Uzma on Saturday urged the SC to initiate contempt proceedings against the respondents for their “wilful, deliberate and contumacious disobedience and violation” of the Aug 18 order.
The petition contended that the court was being approached in light of the “non-compliance and brazen violations” by the respondents of the SC’s orders.
“It is clear from the respondents’ own admissions that the court directions contained in Aug 18 order were violated,” it said.
“The directions contained in the Aug 18 orders were clear, unambiguous, unequivocal and fully capable of implementation,” the petition said, adding they were issued in the presence of the Islamabad advocate general and the additional attorney general of Pakistan.
“No portion thereof requires any further interpretation, clarification or modification,” the petition argued. It said that the respondents, being the officials responsible for putting the directions into effect, were under an absolute legal obligation to comply with the order “in letter and spirit”.
“Needless to say, the mere filing of a review petition on the part of the chief commissioner does not affect the legal status of the court order and does not justify non-compliance with it,” the plea said.
It said that even if a clarification or modification was required or there was apprehension of a security situation, an application needed to be filed.
It said that the failure to shift Imran to Shifa International Hospital “leaves no manner of doubt that [the respondents] have consciously chosen to disregard and violate the Aug 18 court order”.
It said that this was a case of deliberate and wilful disobedience and a violation of the order, interference with the process of law and obstruction of the judicial process.
The petition said that the respondents’ conduct undermined the authority of the SC, adding that such conduct warranted cognisance by the court.
The petition requested the SC to issue show-cause notices to the respondents and direct them to appear personally.
The petition also requested to impose appropriate punishments against the respondents and direct to take all appropriate steps to implement the directions contained in the Aug 18 order for Imran’s medical examination.
Imran’s hospital transfer saga
On Tuesday, the SC had ordered the government to shift Imran to Shifa International Hospital within two days for examination and treatment by a multidisciplinary medical board.
A three-member bench headed by Justice Shahid Waheed and comprising Justices Naeem Akhtar Afghan and Ishtiaq Ibrahim issued the interim directions on petitions seeking Imran’s hospitalisation, access to personal physicians and family members and provision of his medical record to his family.
The court had also ordered that Dr Uzma Khan and Dr Faisal Sultan — Imran Khan’s personal physician — be present during the medical check-up by a medical board.
At the same time, Imran’s family members, PTI members and lawyers associated with him were barred from disclosing his health condition or medical reports to the media or public until the next hearing.
The next day, the government had filed a review plea against the court’s order to shift Imran to the private hospital, arguing that the directive was discriminatory and issued in violation of prison rules and principles of natural justice.
However, the SC had returned the plea on Thursday with the objection that the contents of the affidavit and facts, along with the review petition filed under Article 188 of the Constitution, had not been properly drawn up and that one of the paper books of was not in order.
The same night, elaborate arrangements were put in place in and around Shifa International Hospital, and all signs pointed to the PTI founder being brought there, in compliance with SC order.
However, it became clear on Friday morning that Imran had been taken to Pims for a check-up and then subsequently transported back to prison.
Information Minister Attaullah Tarar blamed “the security situation created by PTI workers on the way to and outside Al Shifa Hospital” for the diversion.
In a post on X, he said, “In the light of the SC’s order, the prisoner was taken to the hospital under appropriate security arrangements during the night between August 20 and 21.
“A team of qualified doctors, including an ophthalmologist, a cardiologist, and a physician, conducted a detailed examination of him and declared him medically fit,” he said.
Later, the Pims administration said that two specialists from Shifa International Hospital participated in Imran’s eye assessment, while other examinations were carried out by the concerned Pims specialists.
Imran has been taken to Pims multiple times after his eye ailment — right central retinal vein occlusion (CRVO) — came to light in late January.
“The clinical input arising from the ophthalmological assessment was taken into account alongside findings of the investigations conducted at Pims,” the statement said.
Meanwhile, the government on Thursday filed a fresh review petition against the SC’s Aug 18 order. The Islamabad chief commissioner again filed the plea, saying that his office had a direct, substantial and legally protected interest in the matter and that the Aug 18 order adversely affected its constitutional authority.
