The High Court of Islamabad (IHC) ordered the authorities to present the former Prime Minister Imran Khan via a video link today at 2 p.m. If the video link option is not used, the court said that Khan is presented in person before 3 p.m.
Earlier, judge Sardar Ijaz Ishaq Khan made orders for the Superintendent of Adiala prison to meet Imran Khan and bring him before the courts. The court previously summoned the Superintendent of Adiala prison at 12 noon in the case involving the head of the PTI Mashal Yousafzai, who was refused a meeting with Imran Khan. The court asked the prison authorities to confirm if Mashal Yousafzai acted as lawyer for the founder of the PTI.
The court stressed that non-compliance with the previous order, agreed at the last hearing, would lead to strict action.
Judge Khan noted that the court expected the prison authorities to comply with the order and pointed out that the prison authorities seemed to have committed an outrage in the court.
A list was presented in court, allegedly of Imran Khan, but the court expressed dissatisfaction and said that he could directly question the founder of the PTI. The court then postponed the hearing until 12 noon.
After the break, the hearing resumed and the court made a final order for Imran Khan to be presented via a video link at 2 p.m. If the video link was not organized, the court ordered Khan to be presented in person at 3 p.m.
The Inspector General of Islamabad was invited to provide appropriate provisions for the presentation of the founder of the PTI before the court.
During the hearing, lawyer Shoaib Shaheen informed the court that political leaders had not been able to meet for five months.
The court also asked for the reasons for the delay in the organization of the meeting between Mashal Yousafzai and Imran Khan. The prison superintendent, Abdul Ghafur Anjum, explained that he was outside the city, but the court asked why the meeting was not organized last Friday.
Anjum also said that Imran Khan and Bushra Bibi had communicated that Mashal Yousafzai was not their lawyer or their focal person.
The court ordered the prison authorities to ensure the presentation of Imran Khan in accordance with the orders, either by a video link or in person, and stressed that any non-compliance will result in legal consequences.
