Sohail Afridi lambasts ‘jungle rule’ where courts cannot enforce orders, secures meeting with jailed Imran
Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi reached the Islamabad High Court on Friday morning after a 15-hour sit-in outside the Adiala jail, only to be told that Chief Justice Sarfaraz Dogar had refused to meet him. “We received a message from the Chief Justice that he cannot meet us,” Afridi told the media.
The sit-in was staged to protest repeated denials of meetings with jailed former prime minister Imran Khan, despite court orders.
Afridi said he had exhausted all options. “I have exhausted all constitutional and legal options. Despite yesterday’s court order, neither the other leaders nor I were allowed to meet the founder.” He warned that if the courts could not enforce their orders, “the country will fall under the rule of the jungle”.
The PTI leadership is actively seeking permission to meet Imran and seeking implementation of several IHC orders that allowed such meetings.
Afridi was accompanied by KP Advocate General Shah Faisal Utmankhel, Advocate Ali Bukhari and Aleema Khan. They went towards the Chief Justice’s office but were turned away.
Read: PTI demands meeting with Imran Khan citing health concerns
The KP Advocate General confirmed to the media that Justice Dogar had dismissed the meeting. “The chief justice is not meeting with anyone; he has not met with the attorney general or any attorney.”
The PTI has announced that it will not allow the National Assembly or the Senate to continue with sessions until its demands are met. “Next Tuesday we will gather outside the High Court as well as outside the Adiala Jail,” Afridi said.
The dispute has widened the rift between the PTI and the government over Imran’s detention conditions.
Interior Minister Talal Chaudhry insisted on Thursday that Imran received meetings strictly according to the prison manual, with designated weekly slots for family and legal representatives. He said no officer would risk violating court-mandated supervision.
Read more: Imran’s sisters end Adiala Road sit-in after police negotiations
Chaudhry detailed the facilities provided by the former prime minister, including chicken meals, an exercise machine, six large barracks, a television, a physiotherapist and a personal chef. He claimed that these facilities fell within the permissible limits and did not reflect any violation of the rules.
Criticizing what he called unnecessary protests outside the prison, the minister said a small group routinely staged sit-ins despite knowing meetings were being held under court supervision. He argued that recent losses in midterm elections showed declining public support for such demonstrations.
PTI’s parliamentary leader Barrister Ali Zafar rejected Chaudhry’s remarks, saying facilities were irrelevant and demanded a fixed date for the next meeting. He refused to submit a committee report until the matter was resolved, prompting the adjournment of the Senate session until Friday.
Imran has been imprisoned since August 2023, serving a 14-year sentence on corruption charges. His party says long-term solitary confinement is against prison rules. Online campaigns have pushed the hashtag “WHEREISIMRANKHAN”.
Speculation about Imran’s possible transfer to a more restrictive facility has circulated in local media. However, a senior prison official told Reuters that the former prime minister was in good health and that no move was planned. The official declined to be named due to protocol.
