PTI leaders once again barred from meeting Imran Khan at Adiala jail

ISLAMABAD: PTI leaders on Thursday arrived at Adiala jail hoping to meet party founder Imran Khan but were once again denied permission to meet the former prime minister.

The Islamabad High Court (IHC) has allowed the incarcerated ex-premier to have twice-a-week meetings — on Tuesdays and Thursdays — with his family, lawyers and other associates. Despite the order, Imran has been restricted from meeting visitors for several months.

A day earlier, the PTI sent a list of six leaders to Adiala jail authorities, requesting that they arrange a meeting with the incarcerated former premier. The list included Seemabia Tahir, Usman Jora, Asad Abbas, Malik Yasir Patwali, Malik Azeem and Rohail Anjum.

Patwali, while speaking to Dawn, said that all the leaders arrived at the prison well before 2pm.

“We informed the prison administration that we had been nominated for the meeting, as per the directions of the IHC, but we were told that a message was being sent for approval,” he said.

“Officials also recorded our video footage and asked us to wait. We waited there until 4pm, which was the cutoff time for the meeting, but we were not allowed to meet Khan sahib,” he added.

Patwali said he would work with lawyers to file a contempt petition. Since his name was on the list, he said he was unable to file the petition himself.

Replying to a question, Patwali said the government should understand that the PTI would form the government in the future, adding: “So the government should be ready to face the brunt.”

Seemabia, while speaking to Dawn, said that police did not allow PTI leaders to approach Adiala jail and instead asked them to park their vehicles on the side of the road.

“We recorded our protest and then returned. We demand that Imran Khan be admitted to Shifa International Hospital for medical treatment,” she said.

Pre-Poll Rigging

Separately, PTI Information Secretary Sheikh Waqas Akram condemned the government for unleashing “fascism” ahead of the elections in Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) and Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK).

“Central PTI leaders are being subjected to name-based profiling, forced movement restrictions, and NOC (no-objection certificate) denials, while the Election Commission, administration and police are colluding to pressure candidates into abandoning the party,” he claimed.

He alleged that the “same discriminatory tactics” were being used in AJK to sideline PTI, warning that such provocative actions in sensitive areas risk creating lasting divisions and that the party was poised to win a majority.

“The abrupt and indefinite delay in presenting the federal budget is a humiliating confession of economic bankruptcy and the complete surrender of national sovereignty to the IMF, which now micro-manages every tax, revenue target and utility tariff,” Akram said.

“The so-called differences between PPP and PML-N over provincial funds and agricultural taxes are a staged drama to fool the people while both parties collude in economic destruction,” he alleged.

Imran — imprisoned since Aug 5, 2023, for concealing details of Toshakhana gifts — is serving a 14-year sentence at Rawalpindi’s Adiala jail in a £190 million corruption case, also known as the Al-Qadir Trust case.

Earlier this week, Imran’s sister Aleema Khan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi went to the prison for a meeting with the PTI founder, but were once again denied a meeting with Imran.

Speaking to the media outside the prison, Aleema said it was their constitutional right to meet Imran. She vowed to continue visiting Adiala, saying it was the only way to exert pressure on the “powers that be”.