Islamabad [Pakistan], March 24 : The Islamabad High Court (IHC) has restored biweekly meetings for Pakistan's former Prime Minister Imran Khan in Adiala Jail, The Express Tribune reported. However, the court has ordered visitors from making political statements following the meetings.
The HC order issued on Monday allows Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan to meet his family and lawyers on Tuesdays while he can meet his friends on Thursdays. However, only those permitted by Imran Khan's coordinator, lawyer Salman Akram Raja will be able to meet Khan.
During the hearing, the court voiced concerns over visitors using jail meetings to make political statements. The Acting Chief Justice of Islamabad High Court Sarfaraz Dogar said that visitors should "meet and leave" and emphasised that speaking to reporters was unnecessary.
The court directed visitors to sign an undertaking ensuring that they would not make public statements following the meetings. Jail authorities defended previous measures citing security threats and said that they had consolidated Khan's meetings into one day instead of two to manage risks. The court rejected the argument, stressing that biweekly visits for Imran Khan were approved in a previous ruling.
Meanwhile, Imran Khan's legal team claimed that scheduled meetings were being denied arbitrarily. PTI founder's lawyer, Zaheer Abbas, said a scheduled meeting on March 20 did not take place despite requesting it repeatedly, as reported by The Express Tribune.
Justice Dogar directed Imran Khan's lawyers to move trial court separately if they seek permission for his children to visit him. The court's decision comes amid legal battles for Imran Khan who has been incarcerated in prison since August 2023 after being convicted in corruption cases. Khan's legal status changed from under-trial to convicted prisoner, impacting his privileges in prison.
Jail authorities stated that meetings should be restricted due to security reasons. However, the court emphasised that political debates should not be held during or following meetings with Imran Khan. Imran Khan's lawyers assured the court that visitors would follow new restrictions issued by the judge.
Following the court's ruling, Imran Khan's legal team and supporters will be able to meet him twice a week. However, the media gag order breach could result in further legal action, The Express Tribune reported.
The order issued by the Islamabad High Court is being viewed as a small relief for the PTI founder and his supporters. However, restrictions imposed on making political statements show judiciary attempts to stop jail meetings from becoming a platform for political messaging.