ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Tuesday directed jail authorities to facilitate a meeting between former Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan and his counsel, Barrister Salman Safdar, at 2 pm on Wednesday. The order came during a hearing of petitions concerning the £190 million case and the suspension of sentences for Khan and his wife, Bushra Bibi.
A division bench, led by Chief Justice Sarfraz Dogar alongside Justice Muhammad Asif, issued the directive after reviewing related applications, including a request for an early hearing of Bushra Bibi’s plea. National Accountability Bureau (NAB) special prosecutors Javed Ashraf and Rafi Maqsood appeared for the prosecution, while Barrister Safdar represented Khan.
The court’s order follows a February decision appointing Safdar as a “friend of the court,” after which he reported that Khan had suffered a significant loss of vision, with 85 percent impairment in his right eye. During Tuesday’s proceedings, Safdar requested permission to meet Khan in jail before proceeding with appeals, prompting the bench to approve the meeting.
Chief Justice Dogar instructed Safdar to meet his client first, noting that the appeal schedule could be fixed afterward. The lawyer emphasized the importance of seeing Khan and Bushra Bibi in jail before assisting the court with pending appeals, requesting prompt consideration of Bushra’s sentence suspension. The bench assured expedited handling, with the chief justice stating that once arguments commence, decisions on the appeals would be issued within seven days.
Khan has been incarcerated since August 2023 and faces multiple charges, including corruption and terrorism-related cases, following his removal from office through a no-confidence motion in April 2022. The IHC’s directives signal the court’s effort to balance procedural fairness with the need to expedite hearings in high-profile cases involving the former prime minister.
