The Supreme Court said that as a constitutional body under Article 175 of the Constitution, it must have the autonomy to conceive, design and approve infrastructure projects in accordance with its institutional requirements. Photo: Online
ISLAMABAD:
The Supreme Court on Tuesday appointed lawyer Salman Safdar as friend of the court to submit a report on the living conditions and health of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan, currently imprisoned in Adiala jail.
At the start of the hearing, Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Yahya Afridi said Safdar should be treated with respect and not made to wait outside the jail. “Our friend of the court is expected to have access to the PTI founder at Adiala jail with due respect,” the chief justice said.
He added that if the friend of the court faced any difficulty, his personal officer would be available to assist him.
The bench, comprising CJP Afridi and Justice Shahid Bilal Hasan, ordered Salman Safdar to visit the Adiala jail and submit a written report on the PTI founder’s living conditions and the facilities available. The court also ordered that Safdar be given access to the PTI founder’s barracks so that he could prepare the report.
Read: SC refuses immediate meeting with Imran’s council
The court ordered the friend of the court to submit the report by Wednesday and adjourned the hearing until the day after tomorrow.
During the hearing, Salman Safdar asked whether the scope of his report was limited to living conditions only. He told the court that “after a physical eye examination, there are some concerns regarding the health of the PTI founder.”
In response, the chief justice ordered that the report on living conditions be submitted to the chamber.
Attorney General of Pakistan Mansoor Usman Awan told the court that as per the order dated August 24, 2023, a written reply has already been submitted in chambers. He said that at the time the order was passed, the PTI founder was incarcerated in Attock prison.
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“We submitted the written report in chambers on August 28, 2023,” the attorney general said, adding that the medical reports from August 5 to 18 were also attached.
However, the Chief Justice observed that after the order dated August 24, 2023, “there is no order on record on which this court has expressed satisfaction.”
The court said it had full confidence in Salman Safdar and found it appropriate to seek a fresh report on the PTI founder’s living conditions as he is now lodged in another jail.
Earlier in the hearing, the chief justice stopped lawyer Latif Khosa from addressing the court. At the end of the proceedings, Khosa again approached the gallery and asked for permission to meet his client.
The Supreme Court rejected Khosa’s application and ordered that Salman Safdar be allowed to visit Adiala jail on the same day.
A day earlier, the Supreme Court had rejected an urgent request by Imran Khan’s lawyer to allow an immediate meeting with the jailed former prime minister, while referring several appeals related to the PTI founder to different benches.
The same division bench had heard 13 cases, including appeals by the Punjab government against the bail of Imran Khan and an appeal against grant of bail to his wife, Bushra Bibi.
Also read: Supreme Court refers PTI memo on access to Imran Khan jail to ‘executive authorities’
During this hearing, the court rejected the request for an immediate meeting, but issued a notice to the government regarding Khosa’s application seeking permission to meet his client.
CJP Afridi had observed that no order could be passed without notice to the other party and said the court would first decide the objections relating to the continuance of the petition. He pointed out that several related cases were pending in other courts and noted that the case appeared to have become infructuous as it arose out of the August 24, 2023 order.
“We will first determine whether the case is unsuccessful or still tenable,” the chief justice had said.
Meanwhile, the court also ordered the formation of a three-member bench to hear appeals against the acquittal of Imran Khan and PTI Vice President Shah Mahmood Qureshi in the encryption case.
