Jail superintendent ordered to arrange IK’s meetings with counsel, others

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) directed superintendent of Adiala Jail to arrange a meeting between founder Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Imran Khan, his counsels and party leaders.

A single bench of Justice Sardar Ejaz Ishaq Khan, on Friday, heard Imran Khan’s petition to initiate contempt proceedings against the Secretary Interior, Home Secretary Punjab and Adiala Jail Superintendent for refusing his meetings with family and friends as per jail manual.

During the hearing, PTI founder’s lawyers, Faisal Farid Chaudhry, Advocate General Islamabad Ayaz Shaukat, and Adiala Jail superintendent Abdul Ghafoor Anjum appeared before the court.

Faisal Chaudhry said that a meeting was scheduled for the previous day but they were not allowed to meet, adding that he was told that Adiala Road had been blocked.

Ayaz Shaukat responded that the government had submitted its reply in the contempt of court case, clarifying that there were three coordinators as per the court’s orders, but no list of visitors was provided.

The IHC bench asked why the meeting could not be arranged the previous day, and asked when government would arrange a meeting.

The superintendent of Adiala Jail told the court that their meetings were scheduled earlier, and the security arrangements were necessary due to Imran Khan.

The bench said that a clash emerged between jail authorities and the PTI founder’s coordinators regarding who would meet him, and asked to submit a list of visitors in the court.

Later, Justice Ishaq ordered the superintendent of Adiala Jail to obtain the list and send it to the Islamabad advocate general, hoping to resolve the conflict. He also ordered the jail superintendent to arrange a meeting between Imran Khan and his lawyers and send the list to PTI Secretary General Salman Akram Raja. After issuing the directions, the bench disposed of the contempt of court petition.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2024