By The South Asia Times

ISLAMABAD - Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder and former Pakistan's Prime Minister Imran Khan was briefly taken to a hospital for a medical examination in the early hours of Friday but was returned to Adiala Jail just hours later, prompting his sister and party officials to accuse the government of defying a Supreme Court order directing his transfer to Shifa International Hospital.

The Supreme Court had on Tuesday ordered the government to shift the incarcerated former prime minister to Shifa International Hospital within 48 hours for examination and treatment by a multidisciplinary medical board, with the order also allowing his personal physician to remain involved and directing authorities to facilitate regular family contact.

The government's review petition challenging the order was returned by the Supreme Court registrar's office on Thursday over incomplete documentation.

Addressing a press conference at KP House alongside Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi, Dr Uzma Khan, Imran's sister, detailed a chaotic overnight ordeal that she said began when she was called to Adiala Jail at around 8:30 pm.

According to Dr Uzma, despite the court's explicit directive for Shifa Hospital, Khan was instead taken to the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS). She alleged that only her brother's eyes were examined and his blood pressure checked, with no comprehensive medical assessment conducted.

She described the process as "haphazard" and claimed officials had no medical files.

"I kept asking whether we were being taken to Shifa International Hospital, but no one answered," she said. The former premier was then transferred back to Adiala Jail around 5 am .

Dr Uzma alleged that Khan had told her he was being kept in solitary confinement and subjected to mental torture, comparing his treatment to that of the late former Egyptian president Mohamed Morsi, who died in custody after being held in isolation.

"Imran repeatedly said they had been treating him very unjustly for the past 10 months," she said.

Information Minister Attaullah Tarar, in a statement on X, confirmed Khan was taken to PIMS rather than Shifa, attributing the change to "security situation created by PTI workers on the way to and outside Shifa Hospital". Tarar said a team including doctors from Shifa examined Khan and declared him "medically fit".

Chief Minister Afridi condemned the government's actions, announcing that PTI would approach the courts with a contempt petition over the alleged non-implementation of the Supreme Court order.

"This is not only about throwing the order of three judges into the dustbin," he said, warning that if court orders continue to be ignored, "the law of the jungle will prevail"