The petition calls for a declaration that their solitary confinement and incommunicado detention are illegal and unconstitutional
ISLAMABAD:
The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Monday removed the registrar’s objections to the petitions filed on behalf of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi against their alleged solitary confinement and ordered that the cases be given regular numbers.
Justice Khadim Hussain Soomro heard the petitions filed by Imran’s sister Aleema Khan on his behalf and by Mubashra Khawar Maneka on behalf of Bushra Bibi. Lawyer Salman Safdar and PTI general secretary Salman Akram Raja appeared before the court.
Aleema had filed a petition with the IHC seeking a declaration that the prolonged solitary confinement and incommunicado detention of her brother at Adiala Prison is illegal, unconstitutional and without legal authority.
During the hearing, Safdar argued that “the Registrar’s Office has raised the objection that the petitioners are not the aggrieved parties”, adding that “Aleema is the sister of the PTI founder and Mubashra is the daughter of Bushra Bibi.”
Safdar said the issue of alleged solitary confinement has already been raised before the chief justice in appeals. “The chief justice told us to approach the appropriate forum,” he said.
Referring to previous case law, Safdar cited the Begum Shamim Afridi case and said she had challenged the solitary confinement of her imprisoned husband.
Justice Soomro asked the lawyer to identify the relevant paragraph of the judgment confirming that the applicant was the wife of the prisoner. Safdar then read the relevant part of the decision in court.
The lawyer said he had not been allowed to meet Bushra Bibi since December, while he had met Imran only twice on the orders of the Chief Justice of Pakistan and the IHC Chief Justice.
“They don’t have television and they don’t get newspapers. Solitary confinement is the harshest form of punishment,” Safdar said.
“There is no mention of solitary confinement anywhere in the judgment against us,” he added, saying that “even extraordinary prisoners can only be kept in solitary confinement for 14 days.”
Read: Kasim calls for HRC intervention to end Imran’s persecution and detention immediately
Safdar further claimed that “the husband and wife are being subjected to inhumane treatment” and claimed that they had been kept in solitary confinement for the past seven months without being allowed to meet anyone.
He also referred to a previous petition involving Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, saying: “If no family member can approach the court, then who can?”
During the proceedings, Justice Soomro sought a copy of the order in which the Chief Justice allegedly directed the petitioners to approach the concerned forum. “We do not have a copy of the order. We are facing difficulties even in obtaining certified copies,” Safdar replied.
National Accountability Bureau (NAB) prosecutor Rafi Maqsood disputed the allegations, telling the court that after meeting Imran, Safdar never informed the bench that his client was being held in solitary confinement. “He only told the court that he had been instructed to argue for the suspension of the sentencing applications and not the appeals,” the prosecutor said.
Safdar responded that a miscellaneous motion raising this issue had already been filed in the ongoing appeals. The prosecutor argued that the various motions had already been rejected, while Safdar argued that this was not the case.
The NAB prosecutor further argued that the matter can now be taken to the Supreme Court and cannot be pursued through a constitutional petition under Article 199.
The petition, filed under Article 199 of the Constitution through a legal team led by Safdar and advocate Salman Akram Raja, names the Superintendent and Deputy Superintendent of Adiala Prison, Inspector General of Prisons Punjab, Chairman NAB, Director General FIA, Medical Superintendent PIMS and the state as respondents.
The petition claimed that no court had granted solitary confinement to the 74-year-old former prime minister, either in the Al-Qadir Trust case or the Toshakhana-II case, and yet prison authorities allegedly kept him in solitary confinement for almost 22 hours a day for the past six months without any legal sanction.
Learn more: Imran’s ‘solitary prison’ contested
Safdar asked the court to produce copies of the miscellaneous petitions and any related orders arising from the earlier proceedings, saying no order had been passed by the Chief Justice’s bench on the issue of solitary confinement.
After hearing the arguments, the court removed the registrar’s objections, ordered that the petitions be given regular numbers and held that the issue of maintainability would be decided on the judicial side.
At Safdar’s request, the court adjourned further hearing until Tuesday.
Imran and Bushra Bibi remain incarcerated in Adiala Prison in Rawalpindi. They were sentenced on December 20, 2025, to 17 years in prison in the Toshakhana-II case, which concerns allegations that the couple illegally kept a Bulgari jewelry set given by the Saudi crown prince during an official visit to Saudi Arabia.
In January last year, an accountability court in Islamabad sentenced Imran to 14 years and Bushra Bibi to seven years in prison in a reference filed by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB). The IHC is currently hearing appeals seeking suspension of these sentences.
