Supreme Court refers PTI memo on Imran Khan jail access to ‘executive authorities’

The Supreme Court on Saturday refrained from passing any order on the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) memorandum seeking immediate prison visiting rights for party founder Imran Khan, adding that the letter had been forwarded to the “relevant executive authorities” for appropriate consideration in accordance with law.

Imran has been imprisoned since August 2023 and is currently serving a sentence in Adiala prison in a £190m corruption case. In addition, he faces pending legal proceedings under the Anti-Terrorism Act for the protests on 9 May 2023. The party has in recent days expressed concern over Imran’s health and demanded treatment by its own medical team.

Read: Government reveals report on Imran’s eye treatment

On Friday, after the government unveiled a report on Imran’s eye treatment, a group of PTI lawmakers led by Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi submitted a memorandum to Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Yahya Afridi detailing their grievances over being denied access to the PTI founder. According to the memo, Imran’s rights as a prisoner and a human being have been consistently violated during his imprisonment.

In a press release issued today, the Supreme Court said that on January 30, a group of parliamentarians associated with the PTI gathered outside the apex court to raise concerns regarding access to their jailed leader.

It said its registrar engaged with their representatives and assured them that their concerns would be brought to the notice of the CJP

It added that later in the day, PTI General Secretary Salman Akram Raja was granted audience by the Chief Justice.

“During the interaction, concerns regarding access to the jailed PTI leader, including access to family members and doctors, were raised. Since the issue raised did not directly relate to a pending case at the Supreme Court, the concerns were referred to the relevant executive authorities for processing in accordance with the law, whereupon the assembly peacefully dispersed,” the press release said.

It added that on Friday, concerns regarding access to the jailed PTI leader and the release of medical reports were once again referred to the relevant executive authorities for appropriate consideration in accordance with the law after the PTI and opposition leaders approached the court and submitted a signed memorandum.

The Supreme Court also said that to address such eventualities in future, it had issued standard procedures for engaging aggrieved litigants, emphasizing accessibility, facilitation and provision of necessary facilities, including emergency medical coverage, without compromising institutional set-up, judicial functions or rights of other litigants.

Commenting on the court’s statement, Imran’s sister, Noreen Niazi, took exception to the court’s decision not to name the former prime minister, saying it used the term “jailed leader” instead.

“Leave aside everything else that has been written, the shameful thing is that the Supreme Court of Pakistan did not have the guts to even write the name Imran Khan. Four times the term ‘imprisoned leader’ was used instead.