Court issues order during contempt hearing as objections raised over failure to facilitate party leaders meeting
By our correspondent
ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court has directed the Superintendent of Adiala Jail to arrange a meeting between former Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Imran Khan and his party leaders on Tuesday. The decision came during a hearing of the contempt petition, which was presided over by a three-member bench led by Justice Sardar Ijaz Ishaq Khan. PTI’s lawyer, Faisal Fareed Chaudhry, Advocate General Ayaz Shaukat, and Superintendent of Adiala Jail, Abdul Ghafoor Anjum, were present during the proceedings.
Chaudhry informed the court that a meeting with Imran Khan had been scheduled the previous day but was not held. He explained that Adiala Road was blocked, which also prevented other PTI leaders, including Asad Qaiser and Shibli Faraz, from reaching the jail. Advocate General Shaukat clarified that a response had been submitted in the contempt case, indicating that three coordinators had been assigned to arrange the meetings. However, no list had been provided specifying which six individuals wanted to meet Imran Khan.
The court asked whether a list had been submitted and when the meetings would be scheduled. In response, the Superintendent of Adiala Jail explained that meetings with Imran Khan had been planned for Tuesday and Thursday, but additional security arrangements were necessary for other days due to the high-profile nature of the meetings. The court then ordered the compilation of a list of individuals wishing to meet Imran Khan, which should be sent to the Advocate General of Islamabad. The court expressed hope that these steps would resolve the ongoing dispute between the jail authorities and Imran Khan’s legal team.
The court also directed that a copy of the list of upcoming meetings be sent to PTI Secretary Salman Akram Raja. Earlier, Senator Faisal Vawda had claimed that the ban on PTI leaders meeting with Imran Khan had been imposed at the request of PTI’s own leadership. In another development, the Islamabad High Court directed a trial court to reconsider the acquittal pleas of Imran Khan in the £190m corruption case. This case is significant as it is linked to the attack on the GHQ in Rawalpindi on May 9, 2023, which occurred shortly after Imran Khan’s arrest during a hearing related to corruption allegations.
