PTI leader Shibli Faraz has filed a contempt of court petition in the Islamabad High Court (IHC) against a number of officials for violating a court order, allowing jailed PTI founder Imran Khan to meet visitors twice a week.
In his petition filed through Salman Akram Raja and Shoaib Shaheen, Shibli has contended that a larger bench of the IHC allowed Imran to meet his family members and party leader at Rawalpindi's Adiala Jail on Tuesday and Thursday.
However, he lamented, the jail administration did not comply with the court order. The PTI leader, who is also the leader of opposition in the Senate, urged the court to initiate contempt proceedings against various respondents including secretary interior, Punjab home secretary and Adiala Jail superintendent.
On March 24, a three-member larger bench of the IHC restored Imran's biweekly meeting with visitors at Adiala Jail but also imposed a ban on the visitors to talk with the media after such meetings.
The bench, led by Acting Chief Justice Muhammad Sarfraz Dogar and including Justice Arbab Muhammad Tahir and Justice Muhammad Azam Khan, noted that only those persons could meet the PTI founder whose names were provided by Imran's coordinator Salman Akram Raja.
However, on March 27, the administration of Rawalpindi's famous jail where Imran Khan has been detained since September 2023, did not allow PTI leaders to meet the party founder.
On Thursday, April 3, Adiala Jail authorities once again refused to allow the PTI leader to meet Imran in the wake of Eidul Fitr celebrations.
PTI leaders denied access to Imran
The Adiala Jail administration once again defied a court order and denied Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leaders access to their founding chairman, Imran Khan. This prompted PTI leadership to seek judicial intervention, demanding the implementation of the court's order, and even suggested that judges should resign if they failed to enforce it.
On Thursday, PTI leaders, including Omar Ayub Khan, Shibli Faraz, Aliya Hamza, and Niaz Ullah Niazi, arrived at Adiala Jail to meet Imran Khan. Despite the day being reserved for meetings and Imran himself finalizing the visitors' list, they were denied access.
Speaking to the media outside Adiala Jail, Opposition Leader Omar Ayub Khan expressed frustration over the denial. "We don't know whose instructions are being followed to prevent party leaders and family members from meeting Imran Khan," he said, adding that Imran had not spoken to his sons for over two and a half months, nor had he seen his sisters.
Ayub also expressed disappointment that Imran was not allowed to offer Eid prayers, questioning, "What kind of Islamic state are we living in?" He accused the authorities of repeatedly committing contempt of court and expressed hope that the judges would ensure their orders were carried out. "If the judges cannot enforce their orders, they should resign," he added.
He further criticized the provincial government of Balochistan for obstructing a PTI delegation from meeting BNP-M chief Akhtar Mengal, calling it an unjust act. Ayub also commented on the deteriorating law and order situation, stating, "We have repeatedly warned that the government had lost its writ in eight districts."
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