HC admits Marwat’s jail rules petition

The Islamabad High Court (IHC) has accepted for hearing a petition filed by Sher Afzal Marwat challenging Clause 265 of the Jail Rules, which imposes a ban on political discussions by prisoners. This decision was made after the court dismissed an objection raised by the Islamabad Advocate General. The IHC has scheduled arguments on the petition for next week.

IHC Justice Sardar Ejaz Ishaq Khan heard the case. Marwat argued that the Advocate General had questioned the court’s jurisdiction. However, he added that the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder, who was incarcerated in Adiala Jail, Rawalpindi, was sentenced by an Islamabad court.

Marwat asserted that Article 199(C) of the Constitution and previous IHC judgments were clear on the matter.

However, the judge asked Marwat to present arguments on whether the Punjab government should be made a party to the case and if the IHC could issue instructions to the provincial government.

Citing an example, the judge asked the petitioner if, given that Islamabad receives water from Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, the court could claim jurisdiction over that province. Marwat replied that, to the extent of water, the court did have jurisdiction.

After hearing the arguments, the court rejected the Advocate General’s objections regarding jurisdiction and declared the petition admissible. The court directed Marwat to file any additional documents if he wished and adjourned the hearing until Friday.