ISLAMABAD: A day after the Punjab government banned the entry of visitors in Rawalpindi’s Adiala jail owing to ‘security concerns’, the Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Wednesday sought a reply from the jail superintendent on the notification issued by the government that banned meetings with the prisoners for two weeks.

The petition filed by PTI leader Sher Afzal Marwat was taken up by Justice Arbab Mohammad Tahir on Wednesday, who issued a notice to the jail superintendent and asked him to appear before the bench today. In his plea, the PTI lawmaker asked the court to set aside the notification.

Arguing before the court, Mr Marwat stated that the Punjab government imposed the ban on meetings of inmates with their relatives and friends for two weeks owing to the alleged security threats. As a result, the prisoners could neither meet the visitors nor consult their legal teams, he said, urging the court to strike down the ban. Justice Tahir issued a notice to the SP Jail and adjourned the hearing till Thursday (today).

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On Tuesday, the Punjab Home Department banned the entry in the prison in light of reports from intelligence agencies about an alleged terror threat to the jail. The reports claimed that the militants wanted to attack the jail to create chaos in the country. As the purpose of the alleged attacks was to create “lawlessness and anarchy”, it was imperative that some measures be taken without delay, the home department had said.

PTI urges court to set aside notification as Aleema visits Imran in jail

In addition to the ban, the prisons department was also directed to increase the security measures at the overcrowded jail in the garrison city, which houses PTI founder Imran Khan, his aide Shah Mehmood Qureshi and ex-CM Parvez Elahi, among others.

More than 6,000 inmates are currently detained at Adiala, more than double the capacity of the jail. Following the ban imposed by the Punjab government, the jail administration did not allow anybody, including lawyers, to meet their clients in the jail on Tuesday.

Aleema meets Imran

However, Imran Khan’s sister Aleema Khan was allowed to meet her brother in Adiala jail on Wednesday by the jail administration. She said that they were told that the meeting with Mr Khan was not possible, but they were kept standing outside the jail before the administration finally agreed to let them in.

She said that the lead counsel for Mr Khan, Barrister Ali Zafar and Barrister Salman Safdar, rushed to the Islamabad High Court (IHC) from Adiala jail since the appeals against conviction in the cipher and Toshakhana cases were fixed before a division bench.

She further said that Imran Khan was in good health and was happy to hear that the MNA of his party went to the IHC to attend the hearing of appeals against his conviction.

Published in Dawn, March 14th, 2024