Despite an order from the Islamabad High Court (IHC), the jail authorities failed to present Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan before the court in person on Friday.
The IHC had issued the directive during the hearing of Mashal Yousafzai’s petition, which challenged the denial of permission to meet the PTI leader, who is being held at Rawalpindi’s Adiala Jail.
Initially, the court stated that if the Islamabad advocate general (AG) intended to proceed with a video link appearance, they should inform the court. However, if Khan was not presented via video link by 2pm, he was to be brought to court in person by 3pm.
When the 2pm deadline passed without a video link presentation, the court insisted on his in-person appearance. However, the Islamabad AG informed the court that transferring Khan from the jail was impossible due to security concerns and that a video link was also not feasible.
The court then ordered the Adiala jail superintendent and the Islamabad AG to submit affidavits explaining their inability to comply. Additionally, a commission was formed, including law clerk Sakina Bangash, to visit Adiala Jail and confirm whether Yousafzai was authorized to represent Khan. The commission is tasked with meeting Khan on Saturday, and the jail superintendent has been instructed to make the necessary arrangements.
Yousafzai viewed the formation of the commission as a valuable opportunity and asked for confirmation on whether Khan was being allowed to meet his friends. The Islamabad AG responded that the court order concerned meetings with lawyers, not friends.
Justice Sardar Ejaz Khan pointed out that Yousafzai was appearing as a lawyer, and the petition was being heard accordingly.
Earlier, the court expressed frustration over the failure to comply with a previous order, which had been agreed upon by all parties. The judge indicated that the jail authorities may have committed contempt of court. The court also mentioned a list purportedly from Khan but stated that it would verify its authenticity directly with him.
The court rebuked the jail authorities for not following the court’s directions and turning the situation into a mockery. Advocate Shoaib Shaheen informed the court that political leaders had been unable to meet for the past five months. Justice Sardar questioned the Adiala Jail superintendent about this, and the superintendent explained he had been out of the city. He also said that Khan had not wished to meet anyone the previous Friday.
The judge questioned why Yousafzai was not allowed to meet Khan in the superintendent’s office, to which the superintendent responded that Khan and his wife, Bushra Bibi, had said Yousafzai was neither their lawyer nor their representative.
The court asked Yousafzai about the cases she was handling on Khan’s behalf, particularly in the Peshawar High Court. Meanwhile, a list of six lawyers authorized by Khan, bearing his signature, was presented in court. The jail superintendent clarified that Khan and Bushra Bibi were permitted to meet every Tuesday. The court adjourned the hearing until Wednesday, March 19.
