ISLAMABAD: Dr Uzma Khan, the sister of PTI founder Imran Khan, approached the Supreme Court (SC) on Saturday seeking to initiate contempt proceedings against those responsible for violating its Aug 18 order for shifting the incarcerated premier to a private hospital in the federal capital.
The petition, moved by Advocate Uzair Karamat 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, 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.
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, citing incomplete paper books as the reason.
