IHC reserves verdict on plea for shifting Imran to Adiala

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Friday reserved its judgment, observing that it would pass an appropriate order in an appeal of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman seeking his shifting from the District Jail Attock to the Central Jail Adiala.

Chief Justice Aamer Farooq reserved the verdict after hearing arguments from respondents in the case.

During the course of proceedings, the IHC chief justice remarked the petitioner was of the view that the trial court had sent him to the Adiala Jail, but he was lodged in the Attock Jail.

Assistant Advocate General, Punjab, Rao Shaukat produced the notification regarding shifting of the convict to the Attock Jail, saying reasons were mentioned about the action.

To a court query, he said that a lawyer of PTI chairman had already met him on August 7 to take his signatures on the power of attorney and other documents.

The court questioned whether a lawyer could meet his client only for taking his signatures on document. Rejecting the requests to visit the prisoner could fall under contempt of court, he added.

Rao Shaukat said the jail administration had permitted the lawyer to visit Imran Khan on August 7, but they reached late on August 8 and 9.

The petitioner’s counsel, Sher Afzal Marwat, argued that the lawyers were being humiliated on the issue of meeting their client.

The chief justice observed that the PTI chief was a former prime minister and leader of a big political party, and at the same time he was convicted, and “we have to move while keeping in mind all of this together”.

He said the court was viewing the matter thoroughly, so such thing wouldn’t happen again.

The PTI chairman should be provided facilities as per the rules, he added. The chief justice said the court would pass an order pertaining to provision of facilities to the PTI chief in prison and the permission to meet his lawyers.

After this, the court reserved its verdict.

In a related development, the PTI Core Committee strongly condemned the “mistreatment and vindictive actions” against the PTI Chairman Imran Khan at the Attock jail, demanding his immediate shifting to the Adiala jail.

The core committee meeting participants vehemently denounced what they alleged was the political victimization of ex-premier. They claimed people’s patience was running out due to the ongoing vindictive actions against Imran, adding that the nation should not be provoked to protest by resorting to delaying tactics in providing justice to him.

The committee demanded that the bail application of Imran should be fixed for immediate hearing so as to ensure his earliest release from the “unlawful detention”. However, they lamented that the unjustified delay in hearing of the bail application after conducting a trial of his cases on a daily basis put a question mark on the judicial system.