Noreen Niazi meets Imran at Adiala jail for the second time in two weeks

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan’s sister Noreen Niazi met him at Adiala jail on Tuesday, marking her second meeting with the incarcerated former prime minister in two weeks.

According to jail sources, the meeting lasted around 40 to 45 minutes and was held in the jail’s conference room. Noreen discussed various matters with her brother before leaving the prison without speaking to media representatives gathered outside.

PTI lawyer Awais Younas Chaudhry confirmed that Noreen was allowed to meet Imran after members of Bushra Bibi’s family were permitted to meet her.

The other two sisters were waiting in the vehicle. When Noreen Niazi came out of the jail, all the sisters left without speaking to the media.

Noreen had previously met Imran on August 18.

Chaudhry said that the PTI was following the guidelines and orders of the Supreme Court, adding that meetings with the party’s founding chairman had become possible because of the apex court’s intervention.

He expressed hope that the government would fully implement the Supreme Court’s directives and shift Imran to Shifa International Hospital for medical treatment, where his personal physicians could examine him.

The meeting came amid a continuing legal dispute over the implementation of the Supreme Court’s August 18 order concerning Imran’s medical treatment.

The apex court had directed the government to shift Imran from Adiala jail to Shifa International Hospital in Islamabad for a comprehensive medical examination and necessary treatment.

However, during the intervening night of August 20 and 21, Imran was taken to the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) instead of Shifa. He was subsequently returned to Adiala jail.

The government has maintained that security concerns along the route to Shifa and outside the hospital prompted the decision to take Imran to PIMS, where a team of doctors, including specialists, examined him.

The PTI and Imran’s family have disputed the government’s account and maintained that the Supreme Court’s order was not properly implemented.

Imran’s sister Dr Uzma Khan subsequently filed a contempt petition before the Supreme Court, naming Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar and other officials as respondents.

The petition seeks contempt proceedings over the alleged non-compliance with the court’s order and calls for Imran to be shifted to Shifa International Hospital for the medical examination and treatment directed by the apex court.

The petition was initially returned by the Supreme Court registrar’s office over objections, including the absence of a list of charges against the respondents.

It was later resubmitted after the objections were addressed and formally numbered by the apex court.

The Supreme Court has fixed September 16 for hearing the contempt petition.