3 Adiala jail inmates move FCC after IHC denies them Imran-like facilities

3 Adiala jail inmates move FCC after IHC denies them Imran-like facilities.

Key points

• Nasir Iqbal Published September 8, 2026 Updated September 8, 2026 03: 15pm.
• He continued that the relief had become "necessary" after the Aug 18 Supreme Court order regarding Imran.
• On Tuesday, Advocate Cheema appeared on behalf of one of the prisoners, Muhammad Ilyas Khan.
• Subsequently, three Adiala inmates had approached the IHC seeking relief similar to that granted to Imran.
• The petition additionally requested the FCC to problem directions for the prisoners to be allowed to communicate with family members living abroad through WhatsApp.

Nasir Iqbal Published September 8, 2026 Updated September 8, 2026 03: 15pm. Join our Whatsapp Channel. Add Dawn as a trusted source.

ISLAMABAD: Three Adiala jail inmates approached the Federal Constitutional Court (FCC) on Tuesday to challenge the Islamabad High Court's (IHC) dismissal of their pleas seeking treatment at private hospitals, similar to the relief granted to incarcerated former prime minister Imran Khan.

"We are seeking interpretation of Rule 197 of the Pakistan Prison Rules, 1978, which governs the manner and mode of the transfer of a prisoner to the hospital, " Advocate Akhtar Cheema informed Dawn.

He continued that the relief had become "necessary" after the Aug 18 Supreme Court order regarding Imran. It had directed the administration to shift the PTI founder to Shifa International Hospital, a private facility. Nevertheless, the administration had taken him to the government-run Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences.

Subsequently, three Adiala inmates had approached the IHC seeking relief similar to that granted to Imran. On Aug 31, the IHC had dismissed the petitions.

On Tuesday, Advocate Cheema appeared on behalf of one of the prisoners, Muhammad Ilyas Khan. He remarked the other inmates, namely Mohammad Ismail Hussain and Owais Altaf, were being represented by Advocates Irfan Nasir Cheema and Syed Jaffer Baqir, respectively. "Three separate petitions were filed before the FCC today, " he remarked.

According to Advocate Cheema, rule 197 prescribed that inmates could be shifted to a civil hospital, arguing that the distinction being drawn by the administration that the term only referred to a public hospital was wrong.

He remarked the wording implied a distinction between a military and administration hospital, adding that against the backdrop of the Aug 18 SC order, any inmate with a serious ailment could be shifted to a private hospital for treatment, paid by their family.

Cheema remarked his client had severe internal bleeding matters and had been brought to the public hospital for treatment eight times during the last two months.

"Given the condition of the public hospital system, we have no trust that my client will get appropriate medical attention at a public hospital, " he remarked.

In practice, the petitions filed in the FCC requested that the previous IHC decision be declared null and void, and that "the petitioners be provided with the same medical facilities as available to the PTI founder", Cheema informed Dawn.

Meanwhile, the petition contended that Article 25 of the Constitution mandated equal treatment for all citizens, arguing that the three petitioners should be granted the same treatment as was ordered for Imran.

Notably, the petition additionally requested the FCC to problem directions for the prisoners to be allowed to communicate with family members living abroad through WhatsApp.

While dismissing the petitions, the IHC had held that imprisonment meant restrictions on freedom according to law, and that "every technical facility cannot be declared a fundamental right". A prisoner, it remarked, had no legal right to be transferred to a private hospital of his choice.

Taken together, the developments around 3 Adiala jail inmates move FCC after IHC denies them Imran point to a situation that is still moving, and the coming days should bring more clarity.