Justice Sardar Ejaz Ishaq Khan directs Superintendent of Adila Jail to meet Imran Khan and submit report to court
ISLAMABAD: (UrduPoint/Pakistan PointThe Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Friday appointed a judicial commission to meet PTI founder in jail Imran Khan and verify whether he has been allowed meetings and legal representation.
The court held that the commission would directly ask him relevant questions.
Earlier, the IHC had ordered Imran Khan's appearance via video link at 2pm and, in case of non-compliance, directed authorities to present him in court at 3pm.
Justice Sardar Ejaz Ishaq Khan directed Superintendent of Adiala Jail to meet Imran Khan and submit a report to the court.
PTI leader Mishal Yousafzai denied meeting with Imran Khan
In a case concerning PTI leader Mishal Yousafzai being denied a meeting with Imran Khan, the IHC had summoned the Adiala Jail Superintendent at 12pm and ordered him to personally meet the PTI founder.
The court remarked that the jail authorities must confirm whether Mishal Yousafzai is Imran Khan's legal counsel or not. The IHC expressed dissatisfaction with the jail superintendent's statement and warned that if not satisfied, the court would summon Imran Khan at 3pm. The IG Islamabad was directed to arrange for his appearance.
Justice Sardar Ejaz Ishaq Khan noted that this was a violation of a prior court order, which had granted permission for the meeting between the petitioner and PTI founder. The court criticized jail authorities for failing to comply and stated that it appeared to be a case of contempt of court.
Court adjourns for verification, resumes with summons for Imran Khan
The hearing was adjourned until 12pm. Upon resumption, the court reiterated its order for Imran Khan’s video link appearance at 2pm, warning that if this was not ensured, he must be brought to the court by 3pm.
During the proceedings, Advocate Shoaib Shaheen informed the court that PTI’s political leadership had been denied meetings for the past five months. The judge asked the Adiala Jail Superintendent whether he understood why he had been summoned. In response, Superintendent Abdul Ghafoor Anjum stated that he was out of the city.
When questioned about why the meeting was not held last Friday, the jail official claimed that Imran Khan had refused to meet anyone. The judge also asked why Mishal Yousafzai was made to wait in an office but not allowed to meet Imran Khan. The superintendent replied that Imran Khan and Bushra Bibi had stated that Mishal Yousafzai was neither their lawyer nor their focal person.
Security concerns cited for non-appearance in court
The advocate general of Islamabad told the court that due to security concerns, bringing Imran Khan to the court was not possible, and there was no available video link setup in the jail. Meanwhile, the jail superintendent stated that Tuesday is designated for meetings between Imran Khan and Bushra Bibi.
The court then directed the Superintendent and IG Islamabad to submit affidavits and appointed Law Clerk Sakina Bangash as a commission to visit Adiala Jail and personally ask Imran Khan whether Mishal Yousafzai was his lawyer.
During the hearing, a list of six lawyers, signed by Imran Khan, was presented to the court.
Mishal Yousafzai stated that the judicial commission was a golden opportunity to verify if Imran Khan was allowed meetings with his associates.
Judicial commission tasked with four key questions
The Islamabad High Court tasked the judicial commission with answering four key questions that whether Mishal Yousafzai is the lawyer of Imran Khan and whether Imran Khan was allowed to sign legal documents.
The hearing was then adjourned until next Wednesday.
