ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) directed the authorities to arrange meetings between imprisoned PTI founder Imran Khan and his wife, Bushra Bibi, and their lawyers.
A division bench of Chief Justice Sardar Muhammad Sarfraz Dogar and Justice Muhammad Asif on Tuesday heard the appeals against their convictions in the £190 million Al-Qadir Trust case and issued the directives after lawyers Latif Khosa and Barrister Salman Safdar complained of prolonged denial of access to their clients.
The court ordered that the counsel be allowed one-hour meetings with both Khan and Bushra at Adiala Jail before the next hearing and urged the defence to begin arguments when proceedings resume.
During the hearing, Safdar told the court he had met with Imran Khan after seven months and Bushra Bibi after eleven months, and raised serious concerns about their health. He said that Imran’s blood pressure remained uncontrolled and that the former prime minister feared a risk of brain haemorrhage, while Bushra’s eyesight had deteriorated and she was scheduled for another operation on November 15. The lawyer requested a medical board to examine Bushra Bibi, but the court noted that health-related matters were already pending before the Federal Constitutional Court.
At the outset, Khosa told the court that an earlier order allowing him to meet Imran had not been implemented.
IHC Chief Justice said that the previous order had been for Barrister Salman Safdar to meet the PTI founder, not Khosa. “You are not the one whose meeting was ordered; the order was for Salman Safdar’s meeting,” Justice Dogar told Khosa. Khosa responded that an order for a meeting already existed but that no meeting had taken place. He said his undertaking to argue the appeals was conditional on being allowed to meet Imran.
The IHC Chief Justice, however, said that it had already been settled that Khosa would argue the appeals and urged him to begin. He asked Islamabad Advocate General Naveed Malik whether arrangements could be made for the meeting within one or two days.
“I want to remove this obstacle and proceed with the matter,” Chief Justice Dogar said, adding that he wanted Khosa to begin his arguments even if he had only two sentences to make. He also said that the lawyer could argue for two or four hours.
Khosa subsequently requested a one-hour meeting with Imran, prompting the chief justice to direct the advocate general to arrange it within two days.
Safdar also asked the court to fix appeals against sentences in the other cases for hearing and take up a miscellaneous application. He said that his first protest in the matter concerned the failure to arrange a meeting with Bushra Bibi for 11 months. He added that he had filed an affidavit in the case, something he had never done before.
The lawyer said he could file a fresh bail application on new grounds but had not done so yet. He then drew the court’s attention to Bushra Bibi’s health, saying that she had been wearing dark glasses and that her eyesight had deteriorated.
According to Safdar, jail authorities had informed him that her next operation was scheduled for November 15. He said that he did not know who was treating her or where she was receiving treatment.
“I am not asking for bail; a medical board should be formed,” he told the court, seeking an independent assessment of her condition. He added that even if Bushra Bibi was not entitled to bail, she could be granted temporary bail for four to six weeks to receive treatment.
Safdar said that women were entitled to concessions in such matters and asked the court to obtain complete medical reports from Adiala jail. He maintained that proper treatment was not possible in prison and questioned why Bushra Bibi had been returned to her cell on the same day after an operation.
He also conveyed Imran’s concerns about his own health, saying the PTI founder had told him that his blood pressure was not under control and had risen above 190, putting him at risk of a brain haemorrhage. Safdar added that Imran had said that his eyesight had improved.
The advocate general told the court that medical treatment was a fundamental right and that the government was not neglecting its responsibilities. “All medical facilities are being provided,” he said, presenting a record of the treatment provided to Bushra Bibi. He said the matter concerned not just one prisoner but around 10,000 inmates. He also referred to records summoned by the Federal Constitutional Court (FCC) from the Supreme Court in cases involving three prisoners.
At the conclusion of the hearing, the court directed that the paper books be provided to the lawyers and prepared before the next hearing. It also instructed counsel to begin their arguments at the next hearing, following the arrangement of Khosa’s meeting with Imran.
Later, the court deferred the proceedings for 10 days.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2026