Pakistan’s Federal Constitutional Court (FCC) summons the complete case record connected to PTI founder Imran Khan’s transfer to Shifa International Hospital, citing a constitutional provision that allows it to call for records of cases involving major constitutional questions.
The FCC, sitting as a three-member bench headed by Chief Justice Aminuddin Khan with Justices Ali Baqar Najafi and Aamer Farooq, makes the move while hearing a plea by three Adiala jail inmates. The inmates seek transfer to a private hospital for medical examination, in line with relief Imran receives under an August 18 Supreme Court order. The FCC also requests records of similar matters from high courts. The court indicates it will formulate constitutional questions for final determination in its later order.
During the hearing, the Attorney General for Pakistan argues that after the 27th Constitutional Amendment, authority to address constitutional interpretation and fundamental rights rests with the FCC rather than the Supreme Court. The bench discusses whether the Supreme Court should have addressed maintainability earlier and notes that the August 18 ruling was an interim order. The development follows the Islamabad High Court’s dismissal of the inmates’ petitions on August 31 and comes ahead of the Supreme Court resuming hearings on Imran’s health on September 16.
