Aleema Khan moves IHC against Imran Khan’s alleged solitary confinement

ISLAMABAD: The sister of jailed Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan, Aleema Khan, has approached the Islamabad High Court (IHC), alleging that her brother is being held in unlawful solitary confinement at Adiala Jail.

The petition, filed through Barrister Salman Safdar, names the superintendent of Adiala Jail, the inspector general of prisons, the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) chairman, the director general of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) and the executive director of the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims) as respondents.

According to the petition, a meeting between Imran Khan and his lawyer on April 8 revealed that the former prime minister was being kept in solitary confinement for 22 hours a day, while his wife, Bushra Bibi, was confined for 24 hours daily.

The plea further claimed that no family member or PTI representative had been allowed to meet Imran Khan over the past six months.

Aleema argued that no court judgement authorised solitary confinement as part of her brother’s sentence and described his detention conditions as unlawful and inhumane.

The petition also stated that during the April 8 meeting, Imran Khan told his lawyer that his eyesight had deteriorated by 85 per cent. It contended that solitary confinement is one of the harshest forms of punishment and was not included in the sentence awarded to the PTI founder.

The petition asked the court to declare Imran Khan’s alleged solitary confinement illegal and direct the authorities to end the practice.