IHC to get report today on plea for Imran’s online meeting with lawyers

ISLAMABAD: The jail authorities will submit a compliance report to the Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Friday (today) with regard to an online meeting of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf founder Imran Khan with his lawyers due to security threats.

The IHC had directed the jail authorities to submit the report. It observed that the advocate general of Islamabad had raised an objection to the online meeting, saying that such a provision was not available in the prisons rules.

However, the court pointed out, such arguments do not carry weight because the prisons rules were drafted in 1978, when there was no facility of videoconferencing, and there was no need for such online meetings at any point.

The court remarked that the AG had said that there would be political discussions in the videoconference, so the question arises that if a physical meeting were to be held, what would be discussed in it apart from political matters.

The IHC’s Justice Sardar Ejaz Ishaq Khan issued a written order on the plea for a meeting of the lawyers with the PTI founder in prison, under which the superintendent of the Adiala jail was directed to arrange an online meeting between the PTI founder and his lawyers until the security threats issue was resolved.

The order said that the jail authorities had informed the court that the meeting between the PTI founder and his lawyers was banned due to security threats.

The court observed that if the facility of online meeting is not available at the jail, the PTI founder’s coordinator should be allowed to arrange it.

It further said internet access at the online meeting venue should meet the required speed and performance standards, and if necessary, the telecommunication company whose internet facility was being used would be summoned and ordered to submit an affidavit.

Separately, the IHC wrapped up a petition regarding a meeting of senior lawyer Azhar Siddique with PTI founder chairman Imran Khan and his spouse Bushra Bibi in jail, said an Online report.

The jail authorities in their report told the court that a meeting of Azhar Siddique with the PTI founder and Bushra Bibi was arranged.

The petition, filed by senior lawyer Azhar Siddique, came up for hearing before Justice Saman Rafat Imtiaz on Thursday.

The jail authorities filed an implementation report in the court on being summoned by the court.

The court wrapped up the petition in the light of report by the jail authorities.