Islamabad:
Despite using unconventional methods, former Prime Minister Imran Khan has not been able to ensure a substantive relief of the superior courts.
Until now, Imran Khan has written three letters to the main judges of Pakistan (CJPS), one to the former CJP Qazi Faez Isa and two for the headline, CJP Yahya Afridi.
CJP Isa declined entertaining Khan’s first letter regarding PTI’s complaints. During the hearing of the case of NAB law, Imran had asked Isa to compare the facilities provided in jail with those granted to former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.
Isa had assured him that a focal person would be appointed to visit his Adiala jail cell, but said visit was never reported.
In February, Imran sent a letter to CJP Afridi. When commenting on this, Afridi said that the Charter raised issues that fell under article 184 (3) of the Constitution and, therefore, referred to the Constitutional Banks Committee headed by Judge Aminuddin Khan for new actions.
Now, through his sister Aleema Khan, Imran has sent another letter to CJP Afridi. PTIF Khosa and Intizar Panjuta lawyers delivered the letter directly to the CJP in their camera and found it for more than 30 minutes. It is known that the CJP assured them that it would respond within 24 hours.
However, under the new constitutional framework, the CJP cannot directly invoke jurisdiction under article 184 (3). You can only send such matters to the Constitutional Banks Committee, which has already decided that the public interest litigation will only proceed to constitutional requests, not on the basis of the letters.
Previously, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s prime minister Ali Amin Gandapur also visited the Supreme Court, looking for permission to meet with Khan in jail, but his efforts remained unsuccessfully. Aleem Khan also looked for a meeting with the CJP Afridi on Thursday, but his application was denied.
Imran’s last letter appeals to the CJP to “maintain the oath of his position and show the people that Pakistan’s Supreme Court remains his last refuge of justice.”
The founder of PTI details the conditions of his prison, noting that he has now spent more than 772 days after bars due to more than 300 cases presented against him. He regrets being ostracted, saying that his children cannot visit him or even talk to him on the phone.
He also raises concerns about his wife’s imprisonment, Bushra Bibi, claiming that “the only crime is that she is my wife.” He describes his isolation in jail and worsening health, claiming that his doctor is prohibited from examining or treating it, despite the legal provisions that are granted to special bail concessions.
A government report issued earlier this year challenged these statements, stating that Bushra Bibi receives regular health monitoring and access and access to a kitchen dedicated in jail.
Imran further criticizes the treatment of PTI workers arrested after the protests of May 9, highlighting civilian trials in military courts. He argues that many were “kidnapped, beaten and subjected to military judgments in flagrant violation of constitutional protections.”
He quotes the 10 -year sentence of his nephew lawyer Hassan Niazi as an example of what he calls the unprecedented victimization of his family.
One of the most pointed parts of his letter is his objection to the 26th constitutional amendment, which he has used to “sanctify the electoral dacity.”
The amendment, promulgated in October 2024, altered the appointment process for the CJP, changing it from antiquity to the nomination for a parliamentary committee. While the government defends it as a step to balance the powers, the PTI marks an attack against judicial independence.
Khan also criticizes the president of the IHC Sardar Muhammad Sarfraz Dogar, accusing him of deliberately delaying the audiences of his confidence al-Qadir and the cases of Toshakhana.
His letter adopts a gloomy tone when he remembers the verdict of the 2024 Supreme Court on the case of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, who acknowledged that Bhutto had not received a fair judgment: “Justice in its most true sense must happen in real time; the Pítica Justice occurs 44 years later.”
The letter concludes with its demands: allow telephone calls to their children as required by the rules of the prison, granting Bushra Bibi access to his doctor and restoring the independence of the Judicial Power of Pakistan.
