Islamabad: A Pakistan court has barred authorities from keeping former Prime Minister Imran Khan and his wife, Bushra Bibi, in solitary confinement and ordered Adiala Jail officials to facilitate their meetings under jail rules.
The top court had directed that Khan be admitted at the Islamabad hospital until the next hearing scheduled for September 16, according to the family. The dispute over Khan’s medical treatment will come before the Supreme Court again on September 16.
The court ordered that he should receive medical care according to jail rules. Delivering its verdict, the Islamabad High Court (IHC) also directed prison officials to allow Khan’s family members to meet him as permitted by jail regulations. Officials were asked to arrange telephone conversations between the jailed former prime minister and his sons. The court’s decision followed separate petitions filed by Khan’s sister, Aleema Khan, and Bushra Bibi’s daughter, Mubashara Khawar Maneka. Aleema had approached the court over the alleged solitary confinement of Khan, while Maneka’s petition was about Bushra Bibi. Justice Khadim Hussain Soomro also directed Adiala Jail authorities to provide Khan with newspapers and books every day. Last month, Pakistan’s Supreme Court had ordered the government to shift the former prime minister to the private-run Shifa International Hospital in Islamabad. His family subsequently returned to court, arguing that the decision to move him to the PIMS did not comply with the apex court’s order. The latest high court order gives both the husband-wife duo access to family contact under existing jail rules. It also places responsibility on prison officials to implement the directions and report back to the court. A three-member bench comprising Justices Shahid Waheed, Naeem Akhtar Afghan and Ishtiaq Ibrahim will hear the contempt petition filed by his family.
His family and supporters has been worried about an eye condition diagnosed earlier this year.
