Former Pakistani leader Imran Khan is medically fit and back in jail, official says

Former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan is medically fit and back in jail after being examined at a hospital, the country’s information minister said Friday.

Former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan is medically fit and back in jail after being examined by a team of doctors in a hospital overnight, the country’s information minister said Friday, a move that had not been widely anticipated after Khan was allowed to leave prison to have his health checked for the first time since February.

Khan, 73, was transferred to a hospital during the intervening night of Aug. 20 and 21 for ​medical examination, following a Supreme Court order this week, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said in a post on X.

His supporters lined the streets of the capital, Islamabad, overnight, showering flowers on the vehicle widely believed to be carrying him to the hospital. Aired live on Pakistani television, the images stood in stark contrast to how the country’s broadcasters had covered Khan in recent years, tending to not even cite the highly popular cricketer-turned-politician’s name until Thursday night.

Police officers standing guard Thursday at a barricaded road near Shifa International Hospital in Islamabad, where authorities were ordered to transfer Khan.Anjum Naveed / AP filePublic perception that Khan was moved back to prison forcefully by authorities could spark new outrage among his supporters and potentially escalate tensions and street protests.

Khan’s party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, did not immediately comment on the claim that he was medically fit. Senior party members had publicly interpreted the Supreme Court order as meaning Khan would remain hospitalized at least for several weeks.