ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court on Tuesday allowed PTI counsel Salman Safdar to meet incarcerated party leader Imran Khan at Adiala jail, declaring him amicus curiae.
The development came a day after a request for an ‘urgent’ meeting — submitted by senior PTI leader Latif Khosa — was rejected by a two-member bench comprising Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Yahya Afridi and Justice Shahid Bilal Hassan.
The bench observed that such an order could not be passed without hearing the other side. Hence, a notice was then issued to the government for Tuesday (today).
The two-member bench resumed the hearing today, during which CJP Afridi appointed Safdar as “friend of the court”, with the court directing him to visit Adiala jail today and submit a written report regarding Imran’s living conditions by tomorrow.
PTI counsel Latif Khosa and Attorney General for Pakistan (AGP) Mansoor Usman Awan also appeared before the court.
At the outset of the hearing, CJP Afridi barred Khosa from speaking, while AGP Awan said that he had “submitted a written response to the chamber in light of the order of August 24, 2023”.
In 2023, SC had directed the AGP to submit a report on Imran’s “living conditions in jail”.
He informed the court that the PTI founder was in Attock jail at the time of the order.
“We had submitted a written report to the chamber on August 28, 2023,” the AGP said, adding that a medical report from August 5 to August 18 was also included.
In response to this, CJP Afridi said, “After the August 24, 2023 order, there has not been any order on record which was satisfactory to the SC”.
In the court order, available with Dawn, it was noted that the report submitted by the AGP pertained to the period when the former premier was imprisoned in the District jail, Attock, in 2023.
Hence, it maintained that the court “considered appropriate that a report regarding the present ‘living conditions of the petitioner in jail’ be submitted by the Superintendent, Central Prison, Rawalpindi.”
Subsequently, the court appointed Safdar as amicus curiae.
“Salman Safdar should go to Adiala as a friend of the court,” CJP Afridi said.
“We have full faith in Salman Safdar,” he further remarked.
“He should be given full access to the PTI founder so he may be able to file a written response,” he added.
Justice Afridi directed that Safdar should “not be kept waiting outside Adiala”, assuring him that in case he encounters any issues, the CJP’s personal staff will be available.
Safdar, addressing the court, asked “if the scope of the report was limited to living conditions only”, citing concerns regarding Imran’s health in light of a recent medical procedure.
“Submit a report of the living conditions only,” CJP Afridi responded.
AGP Awan also requested the court to “include in the order that a report had already been submitted”.
Towards the end of the hearing, Khosa took the rostrum again, seeking that his request to meet Imran be accepted as well. However, the request was again rejected.
The court then adjourned the hearing till February 12.
Raja terms conversation with court as ‘beneficial’
Speaking to reporters after the hearing, PTI Secretary General Salman Akram Raja recalled his meeting with the chief justice last Friday, adding that Imran’s incarceration and health came under discussion.
He termed the conversation with the court as “beneficial” and that progress had been made as a result of it.
However, the PTI leader clarified, “We are not declaring anything as final. We are not saying everything is good [and] we have gotten everything. This is not the case.”
Raja said the lawyers will head to the Adiala jail today to meet Imran.
“We will see what demeanour is adopted towards us,” he said.
The PTI leader called for the “system to […] return to humanity”. “It is humanity and piousness that we are demanding right now,” he stated.
The former premier has been incarcerated since Aug 5, 2023, currently imprisoned at Rawalpindi’s Central Jail.
According to a two-page memorandum filed by PTI last week to the SC registrar, the party had requested immediate jail visitation rights for Imran with his family, doctors, lawyers and friends.
In the memorandum, it was alleged that Imran’s rights as a prisoner and a human being have been consistently violated during this period.
The PTI memorandum also highlighted the reports about “Imran being subjected to some secretive medical procedure at a hospital in Islamabad and keeping his relatives in the dark in violation of jail rules”.
