Web Desk (MNN); Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf leaders were once again prevented from meeting incarcerated party founder and former prime minister Imran Khan on Thursday, prompting party figures to criticise the restrictions and say the government should have shown “larger-heartedness”.
A March 24 order of the Islamabad High Court directed that meetings with Imran Khan be allowed twice a week, on Tuesdays and Thursdays. However, PTI maintains that the directive is not being implemented. The party has repeatedly staged sit-ins outside Adiala Jail to demand meetings, including one earlier this week that was dispersed using water cannons.
Talking to journalists, PTI MNA Muhammad Jamal Khan said he had hoped that, in view of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s offer for dialogue and the beginning of the New Year, the government would permit a meeting with PTI’s founding chairman.
He said allowing the meeting could have served as a first step towards national harmony and easing political tensions, but claimed the government missed the opportunity.
On Wednesday, PTI Secretary General Salman Akram Raja sent a letter to the Adiala Jail superintendent, submitting the names of six people for a meeting with Imran Khan. The list included Dr Amjad Ali, Sahibzada Sibghatullah, Usman Bhattani, Iqbal Khattak, Shoaib Ameer Awan and Muhammad Jamal Khan.
Jamal said he reached the jail gate at around 2:30pm and informed officials that his name had been forwarded for the meeting. According to him, jail staff asked him to wait at the check post, assuring him he would be informed once approval was granted.
“I waited until 4:40pm, but the officials kept saying that permission had not been received,” he said.
Responding to questions about why only two PTI leaders were seen outside the jail despite six names being submitted, Jamal said he and MPA Iqbal Khattak arrived together, while other leaders may have been elsewhere within the jail premises. He added that he could not confirm their presence due to lack of contact.
Jamal criticised the government, saying it should have allowed the meeting to demonstrate seriousness about negotiations, which would have been taken as a positive signal by the nation.
Imran Khan has been incarcerated since August 2023 and is serving a sentence in the £190 million corruption case, while also facing pending trials under the Anti-Terrorism Act related to the May 9, 2023 protests.
The PTI has frequently raised concerns about Imran Khan’s health and that of his wife. On December 1, his son Kasim Khan expressed fears that authorities might be hiding “something irreversible” about his father’s condition. However, Imran’s sister Uzma Khanum said after meeting him on December 2 that he was in good health, though she said he complained of mental torture.
She told media that Imran Khan was confined to his cell for most of the day, allowed limited time outside, and was not in contact with anyone. Their meeting lasted about 30 minutes.
Earlier this month, a United Nations special rapporteur warned that Imran Khan was being held in conditions that could amount to inhuman or degrading treatment and urged Pakistani authorities to adhere to international standards. PTI said the report highlighted degrading treatment and amounted to a clear violation of international law and fundamental human rights.
Meanwhile, a sit-in staged by PTI leaders and Imran Khan’s sisters was again dispersed with water cannons late Tuesday night.
