ISLAMABAD: In a positive development for the ousted prime minister, the Islamabad High Court (IHC) has reinstated twice-weekly meetings with Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan. The court allowed meetings to take place on Tuesdays and Thursdays, but strictly prohibited any media talks after these meetings.
The IHC Acting Chief Justice, Justice Sarfraz Dogar, heard the combined pleas on the issue and ruled that no individual meeting Khan will be allowed to speak to the media afterwards. Only those individuals whose names are provided by the PTI founder's coordinator, Salman Akram Raja, will be permitted to meet him.
The issue of access to the incarcerated PTI founder has been a point of contention in recent times, with various people moving the court to seek its permission to meet him. The IHC had previously sought Khan's virtual appearance via video link and later ordered authorities to produce him before the court during a hearing of a plea filed by PTI's Mashal Yousafzai.
However, the cricketer-turned-politician was not produced before the court, with the Islamabad advocate general citing security concerns as the reason. The issue further escalated after IHC's Justice Sardar Ejaz Ishaq Khan initiated suo motu contempt proceedings.
During the hearing, the jail superintendent's lawyer informed the court that prison meetings had been conducted under the same standard operating procedures (SOPs) until December 2024. However, Khan's status as a prisoner changed in January 2025, accompanied by security threats.
The IHC's acting CJ Justice Dogar remarked that everyone submits requests for holding meetings inside the jail, and questioned the need for media talks after prison meetings.
