Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Vice Chairman and former foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi has been transferred from Kot Lakhpat Jail to the Punjab Institute of Cardiology (PIC) in Lahore for medical examinations, sources said. The move follows a recent illness he suffered in custody on Tuesday, according to the same sources.
Sources said Qureshi felt dizzy and collapsed while walking inside his barrack a few days earlier, injuring his knee and arm. Jail authorities later took blood samples and sent them to Shaukat Khanum Hospital for testing. His shift to PIC has renewed concern about his wellbeing.
Health concerns and hospital transfer in custody
PTI’s core committee had earlier urged that Qureshi be taken to a hospital for a full medical check after the fall. The party’s demand came as worries about his condition grew.
This is not the first time Qureshi has needed treatment while behind bars. In May 2025, he was taken to the PIC after complaining of chest pain and breathlessness. Reports at the time said doctors observed him before he was sent back to jail.
Unresolved May 9 cases and pending bail pleas
Qureshi remains in detention in connection with cases arising from the May 9, 2023 protests. Those demonstrations followed the arrest of former prime minister Imran Khan and involved attacks on military and government installations across the country.
He has secured acquittals or bail in several of these cases. In October, jailed PTI leaders said Qureshi had been acquitted in six May 9 cases and granted bail in others, while two post-arrest bail applications were still undecided.
One pending plea concerns the alleged burning of police vehicles near Jinnah House in Lahore, registered under FIR 108/23 at the Sarwar Road Police Station. An anti-terrorism court took up the matter again on November 7, but the hearing stalled when the prosecution did not produce the case record and asked for more time. Judge Manzar Ali Gul ordered prosecutors to bring the record to the next hearing on November 14. Qureshi’s defence has accused prosecutors of repeatedly stalling a decision on his bail.
GHQ attack trial adjourned again
Qureshi is also named in the May 9 case linked to the attack on General Headquarters in Rawalpindi. The proceedings were adjourned on November 6 for the 15th time. The next hearing is set for November 19, because the video-link system needed for the trial was still not working. His attendance was recorded through jail authorities.
Qureshi’s earlier 10-year sentence in the cipher case no longer keeps him in custody, as the Islamabad High Court overturned that conviction in June 2024. His immediate legal situation therefore rests mainly on the unresolved May 9 proceedings and his pending bail applications.
