Islamabad:
The High Court of Islamabad issued opinions to the federal and provincial authorities on a petition requesting the authorization for the imprisoned founder of Pakistan Tehreek-E-insaf, Imran Khan, and his wife, Bushra Bibi, to hold marital meetings in prison.
In response to the petition, judge Arbab Muhammad Tahir led on Tuesday the chief commissioner of Islamabad, the government of Punjab, the inspector general of the prisons and the prison superintendent to respond to the plea deposited by a citizen, Shahid Yaqub.
The petitioner argued: “Under article 545-a of the prison rules of 1978, family life is sustained. By not providing this establishment, the prison authorities violate the law. ” His lawyer added that prisoners have the right to meet their spouses inside the prisons.
Find out more: Prisoners have granted marital rights
Yaqub said that the couple’s right to domestic relations was refused. “Prisoners should be authorized to meet their wives or husbands in prisons. The refusal of this right violates international laws and decisions of the Supreme Court,” said the petition.
The court postponed the hearing until September 30 after asking for answers to the parties. Neither Imran Khan and Bushra Bibi nor PTI are petitioners or respondents in the case. PTI has already moved away from the application.
Conjugal visits procedure in prison
There is a legal process for a prisoner to meet the spouse. The detainee or spouse must first apply for the prison superintendent. If the authorization is refused, the request may be sent to the deputy commissioner.
In the event that the deputy commissioner also rejects it, the request may be filed by the court of first instance concerned. If the Court of First Instance rejects the request, the case may be brought before the High Court.
These meetings require a family room designated inside the prison. However, according to sources, the central prison, Adiala, has no installation for spouse meetings.
What are marital visits?
Unlike popular belief in Pakistan, prisoners also have rights. One of them is the right to domestic visits, which allow married detainees to meet their spouse in a privacy during the conviction.
During these visits, prisoners and spouses are provided a room to spend time together. In the Sindh, following an ordinance of the Supreme Court on Penitentiary Reforms and Conjugal Rights, the provincial interior service made a notification of 2010 indicating that the spouse of a prisoner would be authorized to meet them either day or night once every three months.
Arrest of Imran Khan and May 9 riots
The former Prime Minister was ousted from his duties in 2022. A year later, he was arrested following his conviction in the Toshakhana case, for a sentence of three years in prison.
In 2024, a special court officially charged Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi in the so -called Toshakhana 2.0 case, deepening their legal problems.
After his arrest, riots broke out on a national scale, with party leaders and workers organizing demonstrations that cibed civil and military facilities, notably Jinnah House and the general seat of Rawalpindi.
The soldiers condemned events as “Black Day” and decided to try the demonstrators under the Army Act. Following the troubles, many members of the PTI were arrested and tried before the military courts.
In December, a military court sentenced 25 people, including the nephew of Imran Khan, Hassan Khan Niazi, then sentenced 60 others.
Imran Khan, Bushra Bibi sentenced in a case of 190 million pounds sterling
Earlier this year, Imran Khan and Bushra Bibi were sentenced in the 190 million pounds Sterling case. Imran was sentenced to 14 years in prison, while Bushra Bibi received a sentence of seven years in prison. The judge of the Nasir Javed Rana responsibility court announced the order in a courtroom inside the Adiala prison in Rawalpindi.
In addition to prison terms, the court has inflicted fines of 1 million rupees on Imran and 500,000 rupees on Bushra. If the fines are not paid, Imran will serve six months in an additional prison and Bushra Bibi will risk three additional months.
What is the case of 190 million pounds sterling?
The case alleys that Imran Khan and other people involved adjusted by 50 billion rupees – equivalent to 190 million pounds at the time – which was transferred by the National Crime Agency (NCA) of the United Kingdom to the Pakistani government.
As PM, Imran obtained approval from the cabinet for these regulations on December 3, 2019, without disclosing confidential details of the agreement.
The arrangement had stipulated that the funds would be subject to the Supreme Court. According to NAB officials, he and his wife have received land of billions of rupees intended for the construction of an educational institute.
Read also: Imran, a wife reserved in a case of counterfeiting on Toshakhana Watch
Nab filed the reference on December 1, 2023 against eight accused, including Imran and his wife. On January 6, 2024, the court said that the rest of the six accused proclaimed offenders because they were not confronted at the trial and escaped in foreign countries.
The court charged Imran and Bushra on February 27, 2024. The accusation presented 35 witnesses, which the defense then contrainded. The main witnesses in the case included the former main secretary of PM, Azam Khan, the former Minister of Defense Pervez Khattak and the former federal minister Zubaida Jalal.
Three different judges chaired the case at various stadiums in the trial while the final director, Mian Umar Nadeem, was counter-examined after 38 hearings.
The court of responsibility provided the accused’s 15 opportunities to complete their declarations under article 342. However, no witness was presented by the defense.
