PTI hits out at Adiala Jail ban

Party fears for the security of its founding chairman

LAHORE:

The PTI on Tuesday condemned the two-week ban imposed on all visits, meetings, and interviews within the Adiala Jail premises, where its founding chairman Imran Khan and other top leaders were incarcerated and also expressed concerns about threats to the life of the former premier.

Addressing the media in Islamabad, PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan criticised the imposition of the blanket restriction for two weeks over the “excuse” that there was a terror threat.

He deemed the prohibition on meeting the party's founding chairman as unlawful. He lamented the abrupt imposition of a ban, preventing any individuals, including family members, from meeting Imran.

“We demand that before imposing this, his [Imran’s] family members and lawyers should have been notified,” Gohar added.

The PTI chairman recalled the “two assassination attempts” on Imran.

“Caging him all of a sudden is an indication that Khan sahib’s life is in danger.”

Gohar reiterated the illegality and unconstitutionality of the two-week blanket ban on meeting Imran, demanding immediate access for Wednesday's scheduled meeting.

He urged the authorities to provide updates on the PTI founding chairman’s health and security to both the party leadership and his family, while also calling for a transparent inquiry into the reasons behind the ban.

The PTI leaders, who were denied a meeting with Imran due to the ban, lashed out at the Punjab government.

Barrister Salman Safdar told a private TV news channel’s website that they were scheduled to meet with Imran on Tuesday but sent back as it was banned over “security concerns”.

Speaking to the media outside Adiala jail, National Assembly Opposition Leader Omar Ayub Khan hit out at the Punjab government, saying that he and other PTI leaders were not being allowed to meet Imran despite court orders.

He further told the media that the ban on meeting with Imran and other PTI leaders had been imposed for two weeks.

Apart from the Imran, other party leaders Shah Mahmood Qureshi and Parvez Elahi are also incarcerated in Adiala Jail.

An enraged Ayub said the Punjab home secretary should be ashamed for this action.

He added that the “so-called, unconstitutional and illegal chief minister” of Punjab Maryam Nawaz should be ashamed as well because this ban had been imposed under her watch.

Ayub said Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi “should be ashamed” too.

The PTI MNA said the party “condemned the ban”, adding that the reason given for it was a “security threat”.

Ayub noted that it was his third visit to the jail on Tuesday but he was denied a meeting with Imran.

He too expressed concerns for Imran’s safety.

The PTI secretary general pointed out that the date for the Senate elections had been announced and the matter needed to be discussed with Imran, but the government was creating hurdles in making this possible.

PTI leader Raoof Hasan said the “blanket ban on meetings” with Imran was a “criminal act, which reflected the extent of fear the “unconstitutional and illegal” government of Punjab and their handlers suffered from.

In a post on social media platform X, he wrote that the ban would be challenged in court.

He hoped that immediate relief would be provided to the party and the provincial government would be “instructed to desist from repeating such draconian measures”.

“[Imran] Khan cannot be wished away by unleashing state fascism. The more the perpetrators try to do so, the more powerful Khan becomes. He rules the hearts.”

PTI MNA Sher Afzal Marwat said Imran faced a “prohibition against receiving visitors in Adiala Jail during the inaugural day of the sacred month of Ramazan”.

In video message shared on X, Marwat announced that he would challenge the ban in the Islamabad High Court.

“The expulsion of media personnel from the premises of Adiala Jail constitutes a measure starkly at odds with democratic principles. We vehemently denounce this dictatorial maneuver.”

Also read: Imran deprived of visitors after govt imposes two-week ban on Adiala jail visitations