The Kabul Tribune (KT)— A larger bench of the Islamabad High Court (IHC) will on Thursday hear 11 petitions related to visitation rights for jailed former Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan at Adiala Jail, Dawn reported.
The petitions, filed by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leaders — including newly elected Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi — seek clarity and access to the PTI founder, whose meetings in prison have remained a source of political and administrative dispute.
According to Dawn, the IHC registrar’s office has issued
notices to the advocates general of Islamabad and Punjab, the Punjab prosecutor
general, the Punjab inspector general of police, and the inspector general of
prisons. The court has also summoned the Women Medical Officer and
Superintendent of Adiala Jail.
The larger bench is expected to address both the visitation
controversy and the question of jurisdiction over Adiala Jail, an issue that
has long been contested between the Islamabad and Punjab administrations.
On Monday, Justice Arbab Muhammad Tahir of the IHC overruled
objections to Chief Minister Afridi’s petition seeking permission to meet Khan
to discuss governance and cabinet formation matters in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Earlier, on March 25, a three-member IHC bench — led by
Acting Chief Justice Sardar Mohammad Sarfaraz Dogar — restored Khan’s
twice-a-week visitation schedule, while barring visitors from giving media
statements afterward. Only individuals approved by Khan’s coordinator, Salman
Akram Raja, were permitted to meet him on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
The IHC has now fixed all related petitions before the same
bench to consolidate hearings and address the ongoing disputes over Khan’s
visitation rights and jail conditions, Dawn reported.
