The Islamabad High Court on Friday granted permission to Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leaders and lawyers to visit former Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan who is lodged in Adiala Jail, following his conviction in a corruption case, according to a report by the Dawn.
They have been allowed to hold election meetings with the PTI supremo as general elections in Pakistan inch closer. The polls will be held in February.
Imran Khan can now meet party members Asad Qaiser, Junaid Akbar Khan, senators Aurangzeb Khan and Dost Mohammad Khan, and Ishtiaq Meherban following the court order.
The party also urged the court to direct the superintendent of Adiala Jail to ensure privacy for Imran during his consultations with his legal team.
The report by the Pakistan-based newspaper, citing PTI chairman Gohar Khan, said Imran Khan will take the decision regarding allotment of tickets. Ali Zafar, another top PTI member, said jailed PTI leaders will be prioritised during allotment of tickets.
The deadline for filing nominations ended on Sunday and now returning officers are examining the nomination papers.
The court, while passing the order, slammed the caretaker government led by interim Prime Minister Anwar-ul-Haq Kakar. The Islamabad high court judge Miangul Hasan Aurangzeb said: “A terrible system is being run under the interim government where even consultation on elections is not allowed”.
“(Does the caretaker government) want to derail the polls?” he asked Pakistan attorney general Mansoor Usman Awan.
He also referred to a Pakistan supreme court judge’s note where the interim government and the Pakistan election commission were told that it is the government’s duty to ensure that the public was facilitated in expressing its will through a “genuine election”.
“Permission for consultations on polls is a fundamental right. Opposing meetings between the PTI chairman and Imran raises questions on the neutrality of the interim set-up,” the lawyers said.
Meanwhile, the office of the provincial election commissioner in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa asked returning officers to ensure the recovery of unpaid fines from political leaders, including from Imran Khan, who owes PKR 200,000 to the Election Commission of Pakistan.
Imran Khan is accused of committing four separate violations, each resulting in a PKR 50,000 fine, which remains unpaid. These violations were made in March 2022, a month before his removal through a parliamentary vote.
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