Former PM has been in prison for three years as family and party raise concerns over his health

ISLAMABAD, Aug 18 (Reuters) — Pakistan’s Supreme Court has ordered authorities to transfer former Prime Minister Imran Khan from jail to a hospital, his lawyer and political party said on Tuesday.

Khan has been imprisoned for the past three years and has faced multiple cases since he was removed from office through a no-confidence vote in 2022. The cases include allegations involving corruption, state gifts and an unlawful marriage.

His family and party have repeatedly expressed concerns about his deteriorating health in prison and said they have been denied access to him. Earlier this year, his lawyer told a court that Khan had suffered significant loss of vision in his right eye while in custody. A medical board later reported that his vision had improved.

Most of Khan’s convictions have either been suspended or overturned, while appeals remain pending. Khan denies any wrongdoing.

Al-Qadir Trust Land Case

Khan was convicted and sentenced to 14 years in prison in 2025 in a land corruption case. Prosecutors alleged that Khan and his wife, Bushra Bibi, received land as a bribe through the Al-Qadir Trust, a charitable organisation established by the couple.

Authorities alleged that the land was worth around 7 billion Pakistani rupees ($25 million) and was provided by a property developer who faced money-laundering charges in Britain.

Officials accused Khan of facilitating the return of around 190 million pounds to the property developer in exchange for receiving the land.

State Secrets Case

In 2024, Khan was sentenced to 10 years in prison for allegedly making public a classified diplomatic cable sent by Pakistan’s ambassador in Washington in 2022. The conviction was later overturned.

Khan has denied the allegations and said the contents of the cable had already appeared in the media through other sources.

He has claimed that the cable was evidence of a conspiracy involving the military and the U.S. government to remove his government in 2022. Washington and Pakistan’s military have denied the allegations.

Toshakhana and State Gifts Case

In the Toshakhana, or state treasury, case, Khan was initially sentenced to three years in prison in 2023 for allegedly selling state gifts worth more than 140 million Pakistani rupees.

That sentence was later suspended. However, in January 2024, an anti-corruption court sentenced Khan and Bushra Bibi to 14 years in prison in the same case. The sentence is currently suspended pending appeal.

Khan has maintained that he legally purchased the gifts.

The gifts included perfumes, diamond jewellery, dinner sets and seven watches, six of them Rolexes.

Unlawful Marriage Case

Khan and Bushra Bibi were sentenced to seven years in prison each in February 2024 after a court ruled that their 2018 marriage violated Islamic rules concerning the waiting period, known as iddat.

A court later acquitted both of them of the charges in July 2024.

The case alleged that Bushra Bibi had not completed the required waiting period after divorcing her previous husband before marrying Khan. The couple had held their nikah in a private ceremony in January 2018.