Supreme Court refers PTI memo on access to Imran Khan jail to ‘executive authorities’

The Supreme Court on Saturday refrained from passing any order on the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) memorandum seeking immediate prison visitation for party founder Imran Khan, adding that the letter had been forwarded to “relevant executive authorities” for proper consideration in accordance with law.

Imran has been imprisoned since August 2023 and is currently serving a sentence in Adiala Prison in a £190 million corruption case. Additionally, he faces ongoing trials under the anti-terrorism law over the May 9, 2023 protests. The party has in recent days expressed concern over Imran’s health and demanded that he be treated by its own team of doctors.

Read: Government unveils report on Imran’s eye treatment

On Friday, after the government unveiled a report on Imran’s eye treatment, a group of PTI lawmakers led by Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi submitted a memorandum to Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Yahya Afridi, setting out their grievances over the denial of access to the PTI founder. According to the memo, Imran’s rights as a prisoner and a human being were constantly violated during his incarceration.

In a press release issued today, the Supreme Court said that on January 30, a group of PTI-affiliated parliamentarians gathered outside the apex court to raise concerns over access to their imprisoned leader.

He said his clerk spoke with their representatives and assured them that their concerns would be brought to the attention of the CJP.

He added that later in the day, PTI general secretary Salman Akram Raja received an audience from the chief justice.

“During the interaction, concerns regarding access to the imprisoned PTI leader, including access of family members and medical professionals, were expressed. As the issue raised did not directly relate to the ongoing proceedings before the Supreme Court, the concerns were referred to the relevant executive authorities for consideration in accordance with the law, upon which the gathering dispersed peacefully,” the press release said.

He added that on Friday, concerns regarding access to the imprisoned PTI leader and provision of medical reports were once again referred to the relevant executive authorities for proper consideration in accordance with the law after the PTI and opposition leaders approached the court and submitted a signed memorandum.

The Supreme Court also said that to deal with such eventualities in future, it has issued standard operating procedures for engaging aggrieved litigants, with emphasis on accessibility, facilitation and provision of necessary amenities, including emergency medical cover, without compromising institutional decorum, judicial functions or the rights of other litigants.

Commenting on the court’s statement, Imran’s sister Noreen Niazi opposed the court’s decision not to name the former prime minister, saying he had instead used the term “jailed leader”.

“Leave aside everything that has been written, but the shameful thing is that the Supreme Court of Pakistan did not even have the courage to write the name of Imran Khan. Four times the term ‘jailed leader’ was used instead.