Pakistani authorities are denying relatives of jailed former prime minister Imran Khan permission to meet him, prompting claims of a “deliberate attempt to hide his condition and prevent family from knowing whether he is safe.” On Friday, Khan’s sister Aleema Khan filed a contempt of court petition in the Islamabad High Court against the Adiala Jail superintendent and others for being barred from meeting the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader.
Authorities say Khan has been provided all possible facilities in prison but contend that in-person visits inside the jail would violate the prison manual. Khan has been held in Rawalpindi’s Adiala Jail since August 2023.
According to Dawn, Punjab prison rules allow all inmates to meet up to five people, including relatives and lawyers, and permit 30 minutes of phone time per week; these provisions extend to condemned prisoners. Jail authorities reportedly carry out automatic monitoring of prisoners’ phone conversations and may listen in when deemed necessary.
Visitation privileges are contingent on prisoners’ behaviour, making access subjective and subject to the discretion of the jail superintendent, a retired prison department officer told Dawn. Political prisoners are kept in special cells under strict security and must undergo medical check-ups. The government can suspend visitation rights for political prisoners if a meeting is considered likely to cause unrest outside. Parliamentary Secretary Barrister Danyal Chaudhry said prison meetings are allowed only under judicial orders.
