‘No one even responds to my greeting,’ Imran Khan tells Salman Safdar during prison meeting, IHC told

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Monday removed the registrar office’s objections to petitions seeking an end to the alleged solitary confinement of PTI founder Imran Khan and his wife, Bushra Bibi, with the court directing that the cases be formally registered and fixed for hearing on Tuesday. Justice Khadim Hussain Soomro heard the petitions filed by Aleema Khan on behalf of Imran Khan and Mubashra Maneka on behalf of Bushra Bibi.

Barrister Salman Safdar informed that he was not even allowed to obtain Imran Khan’s and Bushra Bibi’s signatures on vakalatnamas (powers of attorney). Quoting his client, Safdar told the court: “Imran Khan told me during a prison meeting that no one even responds to my greeting.” He added that Imran Khan had also told him that prison authorities did not allow anyone to exchange greetings with him.

It was also discussed that the registrar’s office had objected to the petitions on the grounds that the applicants were not competent to file them. He argued that Aleema Khan is Imran Khan’s sister while Mubashra Maneka is Bushra Bibi’s daughter, making them entitled to seek relief.

Justice Soomro directed the registrar’s office to assign regular numbers to the petitions, observing that the question of their maintainability would be decided on the judicial side. The court ordered that the petitions be listed for hearing again on Tuesday.

Counsel alleges denial of rights

Barrister Safdar told the court that both Imran Khan and Bushra Bibi were being held in solitary confinement and that their health was not in good condition. He said both were being taken outside prison for medical treatment, but despite being their lawyer, he had not been provided with their medical records.

The lawyer also claimed the defence faced significant difficulties obtaining certified copies of court documents and filing cases. He further alleged that Bushra Bibi, who is serving a seven-year sentence in a case related to abetment, was also being kept in solitary confinement.

Safdar said the issue of the couple’s alleged solitary confinement had also been raised during the appeal in the Al-Qadir Trust case, but the chief justice had directed them to approach the relevant forum.