Claim: A viral reel claims Imran Khan was transferred from Adiala Jail to Shifa International Hospital on the night of 20 August 2026.
Fact: Khan was examined at PIMS, not Shifa International Hospital, and returned to Adiala Jail at around 5 am on 21 August.
On 20 August 2026, Facebook page Umeed News shared a reel showing people showering a passing vehicle with flower petals. The post claims former Prime Minister Imran Khan was transferred from Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi to Shifa International Hospital in Islamabad.
Screenshot of the viral reel.
The headline of the post read, “Imran Khan Transferred to Shifa Hospital; Supporters Shower Flower Petals on Convoy.” Its caption stated: “Former Prime Minister Imran Khan has been shifted from Adiala Jail to Shifa International Hospital under tight security. Footage shows supporters showering flower petals on his vehicle along Adiala Road as the convoy passed. A medical board is expected to examine him at the hospital.”
Khan’s medical treatment
In January 2026, Khan was taken from Rawalpindi’s Adiala Jail to the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) in Islamabad, where he underwent a 20-minute procedure for an eye condition after specialists recommended the intervention. In May, Khan petitioned the Supreme Court, alleging that the vision in his right eye had deteriorated and seeking access to specialist doctors and his personal physicians. On 18 August 2026, the Supreme Court directed authorities to transfer Khan to Shifa International Hospital in Islamabad within two days for examination and treatment by a medical board comprising a physician, general surgeon, internal medicine specialist, eye specialist, and cardiologist. The court also permitted Khan’s personal physician, Dr Faisal Sultan, and his sister Dr Uzma Khan to remain associated with his examination and treatment, and directed authorities to make adequate security arrangements for the visit. The federal government filed a review petition on 19 August, seeking the recall of the order and arguing that transferring a prisoner to a private hospital conflicted with the existing legal framework.
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
Fact or Fiction?
Khan is not visible inside the vehicle shown in the reel. The scene is nevertheless consistent with contemporaneous reporting from the night of his hospital transfer. Reuters reported that Khan’s supporters lined the streets of Islamabad and showered flowers on a vehicle widely believed to be carrying him to hospital. The footage itself does not establish the vehicle’s destination. Initial reporting added to the confusion. Reuters reported on 20 August that PTI had told journalists Khan was shifted to Shifa International Hospital. Subsequent reporting established that he was instead examined at PIMS.
Overnight on 20 and 21 August, authorities took Khan to PIMS rather than Shifa International Hospital, returning him to Adiala Jail around 5 am. Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said Khan was taken to PIMS because of security concerns along the planned route to Shifa. He said a team comprising an ophthalmologist, cardiologist, and physician examined Khan and declared him medically fit before he was returned to Adiala Jail. The PIMS administration separately confirmed that Khan was brought to the hospital overnight on 20 and 21 August. Its statement said two specialists from Shifa International Hospital participated in his eye examination, while PIMS specialists conducted his other medical examinations.
Accounts from Khan’s family and PTI also confirmed the location. At a press conference on 21 August, Dr Uzma said officials took her to PIMS, where she met Khan during his examination. Dr Sultan said he was taken separately to Shifa International Hospital, where he waited for approximately two and a half hours before being told Khan was unlikely to arrive. PTI accused the government of violating the Supreme Court’s directions by taking Khan to PIMS and denying him access to his personal physician.
Dr Uzma Khan and Dr Faisal Sultan at a 21 August press conference after Khan’s examination. Photo: Dawn.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Tariq Fazal Chaudhry later said arrangements had originally been made at Shifa International Hospital, but security agencies changed the destination while Khan was en route because they did not grant security clearance for Shifa. Regardless of when the destination changed, the reel’s claim that Khan had been transferred to Shifa International Hospital was false.
Virality
At the time of writing, Soch Fact Check found at least 14 posts carrying the same or similar claim across Facebook, Instagram, and Threads. The main Umeed News Facebook reel had approximately 193,000 views, 3,400 reactions, 32 comments, and 245 shares. Other Facebook posts carrying the claim brought the combined visible engagement to approximately 216,800 views, 3,700 reactions, 34 comments, and 289 shares.
On Instagram, two reels carrying the claim had received a combined 4,373 likes, 49 comments, and 28 reposts. Soch Fact Check also found five posts carrying the claim on Threads.
Conclusion: The reel falsely claims Imran Khan was transferred from Adiala Jail to Shifa International Hospital. Although supporters showered flowers on a vehicle widely believed to be carrying him, government, hospital, and PTI sources confirm that Khan was examined at PIMS before being returned to Adiala Jail at around 5 am on 21 August. Therefore, the claim is false.
Background image in cover photo: PIMS exterior. Source: The News/File.
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