Naqvi hints at Imran’s transfer to Islamabad’s new Model Jail

Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi hinted on Tuesday that incarcerated PTI founder Imran Khan could be shifted to a new jail in Islamabad.

Imran has been imprisoned since August 2023, currently serving a sentence at Adiala Jail in a £190 million corruption case. He also faces pending trials under the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA) related to the protests of May 9, 2023.

Speaking to the media during a visit to the Islamabad Model Jail facility, the interior minister informed that the project had been completed after being “pending for 17 years”, further adding that the new jail would be inaugurated by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in the coming days.

While responding to a reporter’s question about how much time it would take to transfer prisoners from Adiala jail, Naqvi stated that all prisoners from Islamabad’s courts would be shifted to the jail.

Read: Imran to be moved to Islamabad jail

When asked if Imran would also be shifted to the jail, he replied: “My specific answer is that whosoever is a prisoner of Islamabad will be shifted here.”

Naqvi noted that while work on the project had initially begun in 2009, construction work commenced in 2016, further adding that when he first visited the project in 2024, “only 40 to 50 per cent of it had been completed and the project had nearly been abandoned”.

Read More: Model jail misses sixth completion deadline

The minister credited Minister of State for Interior Talal Chaudhry and the team of the Capital Development Authority (CDA) for completing the project, working “day and night”, adding that Chaudhry had inspected every aspect of the facility.

“Now this project is ready. We are now waiting for the prime minister for the opening in the next few days, and then we will transfer the prisoners here,” he added.

“The entire team, including CDA chairman, worked hard on reviving this project that was nearly abandoned”.

He said he had inspected the jail’s kitchen and hospital during the visit, adding that prisoners currently held in Islamabad would be shifted to the new facility after inauguration by the premier.

The interior minister said the jail had been built in accordance with “international standards” and its administration was fully prepared to begin operations after inauguration by the premier.

The interior minister further added that in the first phase, 1,500 prisoners would be transferred to the jail while around three to four thousand prisoners would be accommodated in the second phase.

According to jail sources, 1,500 prisoners, including Imran, are expected to be shifted to the facility in the initial phase. The first phase includes three completed barracks, a 35-bed mini-hospital, a mosque and a kitchen.

They said Imran could be moved to the new facility between November 20 and 30. A special ward for him has reportedly been completed, while installation of its closed-circuit television surveillance system is in its final stages.

Naqvi had also indicated in February that  indicated that Imran may be shifted to the new jail. 

Speaking to the media after a visit to the under-construction prison, the interior minister was asked whether Imran would also be moved to the new facility, to which he had said, “If he has been sentenced by Islamabad, then he will come here. The people [sentenced in] Islamabad will be brought here.”

Background of Islamabad Model Jail

Located in Sector H-16 of the federal capital, the Islamabad Model Central Jail is spread over 90 acres and has been designed to accommodate 2,000 inmates. Once completed, it will become the first purpose-built prison for the federal capital, replacing the existing arrangement under which Islamabad’s prisoners are housed at Rawalpindi’s Adiala Jail.

The state-of-the-art correctional facility is being developed with modern security infrastructure and rehabilitation-focused amenities. The complex will include separate barracks for women and juvenile inmates, a fully equipped hospital, a mosque, a library, vocational training centres, courtrooms, administrative offices, residential accommodation for prison staff and a school for their children.

Officials say the facility has now entered its final phase of construction, although several key components still require completion before it can become operational.

At present, Islamabad has no functional prison of its own, forcing all undertrial and convicted prisoners from the capital to be lodged at Adiala Jail. Every day, hundreds of prisoners are transported between Rawalpindi and Islamabad courts for hearings, placing a significant burden on police manpower, security arrangements and traffic management.

Authorities believe the completion of the Islamabad Model Jail will substantially reduce these logistical challenges while improving security during prisoner transportation and providing a modern correctional environment.