Supreme Court refers PTI memorandum on Imran Khan’s jail access to ‘executive authorities’

The Supreme Court on Saturday refrained from issuing any order on Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) memorandum seeking immediate jail visitation rights for party founder Imran Khan, adding that the letter had been conveyed to the “relevant executive authorities” for proper consideration in accordance with the law.

Imran has been jailed since August 2023 and is currently serving a sentence in Adiala Jail in a £190 million corruption case. He also faces pending lawsuits under the Anti-Terrorism Act over the protests on May 9, 2023. The party has expressed concern in recent days over Imran’s health and demanded treatment from its own team of doctors.

Read: Government submits report on Imran’s eye treatment

On Friday, after the government revealed a report on Imran’s eye treatment, a group of PTI lawmakers led by Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi submitted a memorandum to Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Yahya Afridi outlining their grievances over the denial of access to the PTI founder. According to the memo, Imran’s rights as a prisoner and human being have been systematically violated during his imprisonment.

In a press release issued today, the Supreme Court said that on January 30, a group of parliamentarians affiliated with the PTI gathered outside the high court to raise concerns about access to their jailed leader.

He said his registrar contacted his representatives and assured them that their concerns would be communicated to the CJP.

He added that later in the day, the Chief Justice granted hearing to PTI General Secretary Salman Akram Raja.

“During the interaction, concerns were conveyed regarding access to the imprisoned PTI leader, including access to family members and medical professionals. As the matter raised did not directly relate to the pending proceedings before the Supreme Court, the concerns were referred to the relevant executive authorities for consideration in accordance with the law, following which the meeting was peacefully dispersed,” the press release said.

He added that on Friday, concerns regarding access to the jailed PTI leader and submission of medical reports were again conveyed to the relevant executive authorities for proper consideration in accordance with the law after the PTI and opposition leaders approached the court and submitted a signed memorandum.

The Supreme Court also said that to deal with such eventualities in future, it had issued standard operating procedures for engaging aggrieved litigants, emphasizing accessibility, facilitation and provision of necessary services, including emergency medical cover, without compromising institutional decorum, judicial functions or rights of other litigants.

Commenting on the court’s statement, Imran’s sister Noreen Niazi objected to the court’s decision not to name the former prime minister and said it used the term “imprisoned leader” instead.

“Leaving aside everything else that has been written, the shameful thing is that the Supreme Court of Pakistan did not have the courage to even write Imran Khan’s name, and instead the term ‘imprisoned leader’ was used four times.