ISLAMABAD: The top leadership of the party and lawyers have provided a list of names to the Adiala Jail administration to meet the founding chairman and former prime minister of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Imran Khan, while on the other hand, various legal matters in the Islamabad High Court and the stance of the jail administration have attracted the attention of political and legal circles.
According to sources, the list submitted to the Adiala Jail administration by Advocate Owais Younis Chaudhry includes the names of PTI’s interim chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan, Secretary General Salman Akram Raja, Ali Zaman, Haider Majeed, Imran Khan Orakzai and Shamsi Kayani. The petition requested that these individuals be allowed to meet Imran Khan on Tuesday as per the court’s orders.
This development has come at a time when the political atmosphere in the National Assembly appears to be relatively soft. PTI Interim Chairman Barrister Gohar, while speaking in Parliament, expressed hope that the recent handshake between Opposition Leader Mehmood Khan Achakzai and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif could lead to an improvement in relations between the government and the opposition and possibly pave the way for a meeting with Imran Khan.
On the other hand, Imran Khan’s sister Aleema Khan and other family members are also expected to meet him at Adiala Jail. The Islamabad High Court has made it clear in its previous orders that Imran Khan’s family and lawyers should be allowed to meet him every Tuesday.
Last week, Aleema Khan had announced a protest of 10,000 people outside Adiala Jail, but the protest could not prove effective due to the limited number of workers participating compared to the expected number. Some PTI leaders held Mehmood Khan Achakzai responsible for the situation, but the alliance spokesperson rejected this allegation.
Meanwhile, in the reply submitted to the Islamabad High Court, the Superintendent of Adiala Jail took the stand that the lawyers of Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi tried to mislead the court on the issue of power of attorney in the Al-Qadir Trust case. The reply said that the signing of the power of attorney was completed on June 16 and Barrister Salman Safdar was also informed through a written message on the same day.
The jail administration told the court that the lawyers deliberately did not receive the power of attorney before the hearing on June 18, although the relevant document was available. A screenshot of the mobile message in this regard has also been submitted to the court.
A bench comprising Chief Justice Sardar Muhammad Sarfraz Dogar and Justice Muhammad Asif of the Islamabad High Court has already warned the defense lawyers that if arguments are not presented at the next hearing, the court will proceed on the basis of the available records.
Meanwhile, Bushra Bibi’s daughter Mubashra Khawar Maneka has also filed a formal complaint with the Punjab Home Department. The complaint alleges that some officials of Adiala Jail ignored Bushra Bibi’s medical needs and behaved inappropriately with her.
According to the letter, Bushra Bibi was suffering from a retinal disease that required immediate surgery, but despite complaints for several weeks, proper attention was not given. Later, after a medical examination, she underwent eye surgery at a hospital in Rawalpindi.
According to observers, all these developments related to Adiala Jail may not only affect the political strategy of PTI but also the legal matters related to Imran Khan and Bushra Bibi, while the political circles will keep a close eye on the upcoming court hearings and meetings.
