Ex-Pakistan PM Imran Khan.
Credit: Reuters File Photo
Islamabad: A Pakistan high court on Friday directed jail authorities to arrange a meeting of former prime minister Imran Khan with his party leaders next week, while an anti-terrorism court deferred his indictment in an army headquarters attack case.
A three-member bench of the Islamabad High Court, headed by Justice Sardar Ijaz Ishaq Khan, heard the contempt petition.
Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI’s) lawyer Faisal Fareed Chaudhry, Advocate General Ayaz Shaukat, and Superintendent of Adiala Jail Abdul Ghafoor Anjum were present.
The case was based on a petition by Khan's party PTI that jail authorities were not implementing a court order to allow meeting of family and friends with the 72-year-old cricketer-turned-politician in the Adiala Jail Rawalpindi where he has been incarcerated for over a year.
During the hearing, Advocate General Ayaz informed the court that a response had been submitted in the contempt case, in which it was explained that, according to the court’s order, three coordinators were assigned, but no list had been provided specifying which six individuals wanted to meet Khan.
The Superintendent of Adiala Jail said in the court that meetings with Khan were scheduled for Tuesday and Thursday.
The court then ordered that a list of those wishing to meet Khan should be compiled and sent to the Advocate General while expressing hope that this would resolve the issue of meeting with Khan.
Separately, an anti-terrorism court (ATC) in Rawalpindi today once again deferred the indictment of Khan and others accused in the case related to the attack on GHQ Rawalpindi during the May 9, 2023 protest.
The PTI workers resorted to violence on that day after Khan was arrested. The protestors attacked different military installations, including forcibly entering the GHQ premises while raising slogans and indulging in vandalism.