ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Friday directed the authorities to produce Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan before the court via video link at 2pm.
The directive came during the hearing of Mashal Yousafzai’s petition against the denial of permission to meet the PTI leader, who is incarcerated at Rawalpindi’s Adiala Jail.
The court directed the superintendent of Adiala jail to go and meet the PTI founder and confirm whether Yousafzai was his legal representative.
The court remarked that failing to comply with a prior court order, which was issued with the consent of all parties, amounts to contempt of court. In the previous hearing, the court had ordered that the petitioner be allowed to meet the PTI founder.
Expressing disappointment, the judge said that the jail authorities were expected to follow the court’s directive. “Prima facie, the court is convinced that the jail authorities have committed contempt,” it remarked.
The court also noted that a list was submitted, purportedly provided by the PTI founder. However, if the court is not satisfied with its authenticity, it will directly verify it from him.
Expressing frustration with the jail authorities, the court rebuked the jail superintendent, saying that they had turned the matter into a mockery.
During the hearing, Advocate Shoaib Shaheen informed the court that the political leadership had been unable to meet for the past five months. Justice Khan questioned the Adiala Jail superintendent, asking whether he had been informed why he was summoned.
Superintendent Abdul Ghafoor Anjum responded that he had been out of the city. Justice Khan further inquired why a meeting was not arranged the previous Friday. The jail official said that the PTI founder had not wished to meet anyone on that day.
Justice Khan also raised concerns over the previous court order, questioning why Yousafzai was made to wait in the superintendent’s office instead of facilitating the meeting.
The jail superintendent replied that the PTI founder and his wife, Bushra Bibi, had said that Yousafzai was neither their lawyer nor their focal person.
The court said that if the Islamabad advocate general intends to proceed with the video link appearance, they must inform the it. However, if the PTI founder is not presented via video link by 2pm, he must be brought before the court in person at 3pm.
This is a developing story and is being updated with more details.
