Claim: The image shows former Prime Minister Imran Khan being helped out of an ambulance on the night of 21 August 2026 at Shifa International Hospital.
Fact: The image is AI-generated. Imran Khan was treated at PIMS Hospital and not at Shifa International Hospital.
On 21 August 2026, Instagram user Hammad Muhammad Beyg posted an image showing Imran Khan being helped out by the police from an ambulance outside Shifa International Hospital. The image included this caption:
“Imran Khan has arrived at Shifa International hospital. Historic scenes unfold as he steps into the hospital after spending nearly three years in a death cell..”
Screenshot from Instagram post
Khan’s medical treatment
Former Prime Minister Imran Khan was taken to Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) in Islamabad on 24 January 2026 for an eye-related procedure and returned early the next day. Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Attaullah Tarar confirmed that Khan was shifted to PIMS after eye specialists examined him at Adiala Jail and recommended further assessment and treatment.
The hospital visit was conducted under tight security, with operation theatres and anaesthesia rooms cordoned off. According to Tarar, PIMS doctors conducted a thorough examination and performed a minor procedure lasting around 20 minutes with Khan’s written consent. In a video message released on 30 January, the hospital’s executive director, Dr Rana Imran Sikandar, said a team of senior doctors had assessed Khan’s condition before discharging him, explaining that increased pressure in the vessels of his right eye had temporarily affected his vision.
Concerns about Khan’s vision intensified in the weeks following his January hospital visit. In February, lawyers appearing before Pakistan’s Supreme Court said that Khan had suffered significant vision loss in his right eye, prompting the court to order a detailed medical assessment. A medical board subsequently examined him at Adiala Jail, after which government‑appointed doctors reported some improvement in his eyesight, though Khan’s personal physician has stated he cannot verify those findings due to lack of access to the imprisoned former leader.
Khan’s family said it had “no trust” in the authorities. His sons have also sought visas to visit him. His sister Aleema Khan described it as “extremely concerning and unacceptable” that the government had resisted allowing Khan’s personal doctor and a family representative to be present during the examination and treatment.
Authorities scheduled further specialised treatment, including additional eye injections at a hospital. Meanwhile, supporters and international figures, including former cricket captains, called for better medical care and transparency regarding his condition.
On 17 August 2026 news outlets reported that a report submitted by Adiala Jail Superintendent of Police (SP) to the Supreme Court (SC) expressed concerns about Khan’s blood pressure. But the health update was submitted a day before the court was scheduled to hear Khan’s plea to be treated at Islamabad’s Shifa International Hospital
A three-judge panel headed by Justice Shahid Waheed, also consisting of Justice Naeem Akhtar Afghan and Justice Ishtiaq Ibrahim, ordered on 18 August that Khan be shifted to Shifa International Hospital in Islamabad in the next 48 hours. The three-judge panel further gave permission for weekly meetings with family members and telephone calls with his sons. An official copy of the Supreme Court’s Order has been found on PTI’s official X account as seen below.
An excerpt from the Supreme Court’s 18 August 2026 order directing authorities to transfer Imran Khan to Shifa International Hospital within two days. Screenshot: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf/X
A medical board has been specifically established for the former Prime Minister that consists of a general surgeon, a specialist in internal medicine, an eye specialist, and a cardiologist. It includes one of his personal physicians, Faisal Sultan and Dr.Uzma.
On 18 August 2026, hours after this order was given, Noreen Khan was allowed to meet her brother after 9 months for 15 minutes in Adiala Jail.
However, the Pakistani Government will challenge this Supreme Court decision, as stated by Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar. In a video statement, Tarar claimed that “This order is not within four walls of the law” and the court will be approached for a review of such a decision. He stated that by law a convicted prisoner must be treated either within the prison or at a public hospital, implying that no exceptions should be made for a former Prime Minister
On 19 August 2026, no official statements or news outlets confirmed whether Imran Khan had been moved to Shifa Hospital on 19 August 2026.
However, on 19 August 2026 a review petition was filed stating that the “Supreme Court bypassed prison rules governing transfer of inmates for treatment.”
On 20 August security arrangements were being made for Khan’s transfer between Adiala Jail and Shifa International Hospital. However, early morning on Friday, the news broke that Khan had been shifted back to Adiala Jail after a brief check-up. The Minister of Information and Broadcasting of Pakistan, Attaullah Tarar, made a statement on X clarifying where Imran Khan’s actual health scan had taken and the reason.
Statement found on X
It was revealed at this point that Khan’s check-up actually took place at PIMS and not at Shifa International Hospital, violating the Supreme Court’s order.
At a press conference on 21 August, Khan’s sister Dr Uzma Khan said he appeared physically fit and that his blood pressure was normal, but said he had complained about his treatment in custody. She quoted him as saying he had been subjected to “cruelty” and said he had complained about prolonged solitary confinement and lack of human contact. Dr Faisal Sultan said he had been taken separately to Shifa International Hospital, where he waited for around two and a half hours before being told Khan was unlikely to arrive. PTI said it would file a contempt petition over what it described as non-compliance with the Supreme Court’s order. Reuters reported that there was no immediate response from the interior and law ministries or jail authorities to its request for comment on Khan’s torture allegation.
Fact or Fiction?
Soch Fact Check verified this image with its on the ground reporter based in Islamabad, Asim Ali Ranawho has been covering Khan’s transfer between Adiala Jail and the hospital.
“No this picture is not correct from last night (21 August 2026) This is not from the site at PIMS Hospital or from Shifa International Hospital.”
Moreover, Soch Fact Check reverse-searched this image to find any credible reports sharing an official image of the transfer between the jail and hospital but found no such reports.
AI Detection Tools
Soch Fact Check ran the image through Google’s SynthID Detector to detect the watermark embedded in content generated through its AI model.The tool detected the watermark in “all or part of the uploaded content.” It also expressed “high” confidence in its result.
SynthID watermark usually is embedded into the photo or video created by OpenAI and therefore it is not visible to the bare eye.
Image indicating there is a SynthID watermark on the image
Soch Fact Check ran the visual through a few AI-detection tools. Hive Moderation’s AI-Generated Content Detection tool concluded that the image likely contains AI-generated or deepfake content.
The result for the image was 99.9% for AI-Generated image, where one of the detection tools named as veo3 shows 85% in the breakdown. Veo 3 is developed by Google Deepmind, and is an advanced AI video creation technology. It produces movies in 4K and 1080p from words or photographs while being able to produce matching audio in form of speech, sound effects or music in a single go.
Results Generated from Hive Moderation
A third detector, veraAI, also found that the visual is very likely AI-generated, showing the same result as Hive Moderation.
Results obtained from Vera AI detector
The official statement from our reporter and the findings of these AI detector tools therefore suggest that the image was AI-generated.
Virality
The image received the highest number of likes on Instagram, with 15.4K likes.
On X, it received up to 388.5K views.
Soch Fact Check has fact-checked other claims about Imran Khan since the Supreme Court order was given
Conclusion: The image is AI-generated. No official image can be found of Imran Khan’s transfer from Adiala Jail for medical treatment. He was treated at PIMS, and not Shifa International Hospital as the image suggests.
To appeal against our fact-check, please send an email to appeals@sochfactcheck.com