- The director of Adiala prison ordered to implement the decision of March 24.
- The IHC had permitted meetings on Tuesdays and Thursdays as per the SOPs.
- CM Afridi among PTI leaders invites IHC to meet PTI founder.
ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Thursday ordered the superintendent of Adiala Prison to allow meetings of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leaders with the party’s imprisoned founder Imran Khan.
The directives follow petitions from PTI leaders, including Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi, who sought a meeting with Imran to discuss “political matters” and cabinet formation of the newly elected provincial government.
Hearing a batch of pleas filed by several PTI leaders, an IHC bench, headed by Chief Justice Sarfraz Dogar, ordered the Adiala jail superintendent to implement the court’s March 24 order regarding the jail meetings with the PTI founder.
The three-member bench also included Justice Arbab Muhammad Tahir and Justice Azam Khan.
Soon after the ruling, CM Afridi arrived at Adiala jail to meet Imran, but his convoy was stopped by police at Dahgal checkpost near the jail.
Sources aware of the matter said the chief minister was reportedly on his way to meet the PTI founder when police stopped his motorcade at the security barrier.
It is pertinent to mention here that in March this year, the same three-member bench had reinstated the bi-weekly meetings with imprisoned PTI founder Imran Khan, allowing them to take place on Tuesdays and Thursdays as per prescribed standard operating procedures (SOPs).
However, the IHC had strictly banned any media speech after the meetings. He ruled that no individual meeting the PTI founding president will be allowed to speak to the media thereafter.
Imran has been behind bars since August 2023 after being convicted in the Toshakhana-I case – one of dozens of cases registered against the former prime minister since his ouster from power in April 2022.
He faces multiple cases, ranging from corruption to terrorism.
