Court rules that only those individuals nominated by Imran Khan’s coordinator Salman Akram Raja will be allowed to meet him
ISLAMABAD: (UrduPoint/Pakistan Point News-March 24th, 2025) The Islamabad High Court (IHC) has restored twice-weekly jail meetings for PTI founder Imran Khan on Tuesdays and Thursdays, while also banning any media talk following these meetings.
During the hearing on petitions regarding jail meetings, the court ruled that only those individuals nominated by Imran Khan’s coordinator, Salman Akram Raja, will be allowed to meet him. Additionally, no one meeting the PTI founder will be permitted to hold a media talk afterward.
A larger bench comprising Acting Chief Justice Sarfaraz Dogar, Justice Arbab Muhammad Tahir, and Justice Muhammad Azam heard the petitions related to the PTI founder’s jail meetings. Imran Khan’s lawyer, Zaheer Abbas, appeared before the court.
Zaheer Abbas argued that Tuesdays were designated for family and lawyers' meetings, while Thursdays were for friends. However, he claimed that despite following the standard operating procedures (SOPs), their March 20 meeting was not allowed.
Acting Chief Justice Sarfaraz Dogar stated that this issue had already been settled in the intra-court appeal.
Salman Akram Raja, another lawyer for Imran Khan, contended that their Thursday meetings were not being facilitated. Justice Arbab Muhammad Tahir responded, saying that the SOPs for Tuesday and Thursday meetings had already been decided in the appeal.
Naveed Malik,the lawyer representing the Federal government, stated that until December, the meetings were allowed twice a week but since January Imran Khan and Bushra Bibi were convicted which led to a change in their jail status.
He further argued that due to security threats, instead of two separate meetings, both meetings were arranged on the same day (Tuesday). He maintained that according to jail rules, the superintendent of Adiala Jail has the authority to schedule meetings and that prison meetings were being misused for political statements.
Acting Chief Justice Dogar questioned, “So instead of two separate meetings, you are arranging both on one day?”
Lawyer Sher Afzal Marwat remarked that the appeal had already addressed the issues, implying that he might not be the preferred lawyer for the case anymore.
The jail superintendent's lawyer alleged that the jail meetings were being exploited for political purposes.
Justice Dogar asked, "Why is there a need for a media talk after the jail meetings? Just meet and leave. We can take an undertaking that no media talk will take place after the meeting,”.
Naveed Malik noted that 98 petitions had already been resolved regarding the issue. Justice Arbab Tahir pointed out that if the rules had been followed, the petitions would not have been filed repeatedly.
The court suggested that if Imran Khan’s team assured no political statements post-meeting, then meetings could be allowed twice a week.
Salman Akram Raja confirmed that no political discussions would take place outside Adiala Jail.
After hearing the arguments, the court restored the meetings with Imran Khan on Tuesdays and Thursdays, clarifying that only individuals nominated by his coordinator would be allowed, and no media talk would be allowed after the meetings.
