ISLAMABAD: PML-N senior leader Irfan Siddiqui has expressed astonishment over what he called an “unprecedented agreement” between PTI founder Imran Khan and Adiala Jail administration to allow his meetings with party leaders.

In a statement on Sunday, Mr Siddiqui called the agreement “an open mockery of the law, regulations and prison manual”.

“Such a written agreement between the jail administration and a convicted prisoner is unprecedented”, he added.

According to the media reports, Mr Khan on Saturday appointed three focal persons after reaching an agreement with the Adiala Jail authorities to devise SOPs for holding meetings in the jail.

Says privilege wasn’t extended to any other jailed politician

The document regarding the SOPs for the “smooth conduct of meetings of convicted prisoner Imran Khan Niazi with his lawyers, family members, friends/colleagues”, dated March 28, was issued in compliance with the Islamabad High Court (IHC) orders.

Under the agreement, signed by the ex-prime minister as well as the jail superintendent, the PTI leader has appointed Barrister Gohar Khan, SherAfzal Marwat and Barrister Umair Niazi as his focal persons.

The focal persons will provide two names for holding meetings with the incarcerated party founder every week. Under the agreement, the PTI leader will be allowed to meet family members and his lawyers on Tuesday and Thursday.

The meetings will last 30 to 45 minutes, with the maximum number of visitors in each session limited to six.

The PML-N leader said dozens of prominent political leaders, including Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, Asif Ali Zardari, Benazir Bhutto, Nawaz Sharif, Shehbaz Sharif, Maryam Nawaz Sharif and Yusuf Raza Gillani, have been incarcerated but there was no example of such an agreement with any of them despite the fact that no one was convicted in cases of serious nature as Mr Khan.

The Senator questioned if, as stated, the agreement was made on high court’s orders, why can’t this right be extended to over 5,000 prisoners in Adiala Jail and 90,000 prisoners across the country?

The agreement between Mr Khan and the Adiala Jail administration was reached days after the Punjab Government, on March 12, imposed a two-week ban on visitors inside the prison, citing intelligence reports about a “terror threat”.

The move was decried by PTI leaders, who deemed it a deliberate plan to stop them from meeting party founder and former prime minister Imran Khan, who is currently incarcerated at the facility.

A petition was also filed by PTI leader and lawyer, Mr Marwat, in the IHC against the government’s order which was taken up by Justice Arbab Mohammad Tahir on March 13.

Published in Dawn, April 1st, 2024