Imran allowed telephonic contact with sons

Special Court orders Adiala Jail superintendent to arrange WhatsApp conversation

ISLAMABAD:

Once again, a special court has ordered the relevant authorities to allow former prime minister Imran Khan to have a telephonic conversation with his sons, Qasim and Sulaiman, who live in the United Kingdom with the PTI chief's former wife.

Special Court Judge Abual Hasnat Muhammad Zulqarnain issued this order on Wednesday while hearing an application filed by the former premier through his counsel, Shiraz Ahmed Ranjha.

Imran is currently detained at Rawalpindi's Adiala Jail, facing a trial under the Official Secrets Act, 1923, for allegedly misusing a diplomatic cipher during his last days as prime minister. He was previously incarcerated at Attock Jail after his conviction in the gifts repository case on August 5.

The superintendent of that jail had refused to comply with the same court's order to allow Imran to talk to his sons. The official argued that the PTI chief was charged under the Official Secrets Act, and those charged under this law are not allowed to make phone calls, according to the jail manual.

On Wednesday, the court remarked that the Adiala Jail superintendent had not sent the standard operating procedures (SOPs) for arranging a telephonic conversation between an accused and his relatives. “Let's discuss the matter once the SOPs are received.”

Imran's counsel, however, raised an objection to this delay in providing the SOPs.

He told the court that he wanted to send an indoor cycling bike to the PTI chief for a workout inside his prison cell. The judge noted that he had already directed the jail authorities to provide this exercise machine to the accused.

When Ranjha said that he could send a stationary bike to the jail immediately if the court gave him permission, the judge remarked that he did not want that bike to be used by someone else. “May it not be the case that you send a bike, and the jail superintendent starts using it,” the judge said.

The judge also had to keep the jail manual in mind.

“We also need to ensure the safety of the PTI chief,” he said, adding, “The PTI chairman says that food should be ordered from home, but who will take the responsibility? If the food is prepared in the jail, then the jail authorities are responsible. I issue orders regarding the bicycle matter; I resolve the issue.”

Subsequently, Judge Zulqarnain ordered the jail superintendent to facilitate a telephone conversation between Imran and his sons via WhatsApp.