IHC removes objections to Imran, Bushra solitary confinement petitions

The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Monday removed the registrar's office's objections to petitions filed on behalf of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi against their alleged solitary confinement and directed that the cases be assigned regular numbers. Justice Khadim Hussain Soomro heard the petitions filed by Imran's sister Aleema Khan on behalf of him and by Mubashra Khawar Maneka on behalf of Bushra Bibi. Barrister Salman Safdar and PTI Secretary General Salman Akram Raja appeared before the court. Aleema had filed a writ petition in the IHC seeking a declaration that the prolonged solitary confinement and incommunicado detention of her brother at Adiala Jail is illegal, unconstitutional, and without lawful authority. During the hearing, Safdar argued that "The registrar's office has raised the objection that the petitioners are not the aggrieved parties," adding that "Aleema is the PTI founder's sister and Mubashra is Bushra Bibi's daughter." Safdar said the issue of alleged solitary confinement had previously been raised before the chief justice during appeals. "The chief justice told us to approach the relevant forum," he said. Referring to previous case law, Safdar cited the Begum Shamim Afridi case and said she had challenged the solitary confinement of her imprisoned husband. Justice Soomro asked counsel to identify the relevant paragraph in the judgment confirming that the petitioner had been the prisoner's wife. Safdar then read the relevant portion of the ruling before the court. The lawyer said he had not been allowed to meet Bushra Bibi since December, while he had met Imran only twice under orders issued by the chief justice of Pakistan and the chief justice of the IHC. "They do not have a television and are not being provided with newspapers. Solitary confinement is the harshest form of punishment," Safdar argued. "There is no mention of solitary confinement anywhere in the judgment against us," he added, contending that "even extraordinary prisoners can only be kept in solitary confinement for 14 days." Read: Kasim urges UNHRC intervention to end Imran's persecution, detention immediately Safdar further alleged that "both husband and wife are being subjected to inhumane treatment" and claimed they had been kept in solitary confinement for the past seven months without being allowed to meet anyone. He also referred to a previous petition involving Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, saying, "If no family member can approach the court, then who can?" During the proceedings, Justice Soomro asked for a copy of the order in which the chief justice had allegedly directed the petitioners to approach the relevant forum. "We do not have a copy of the order. We face difficulties even in obtaining certified copies," Safdar replied. The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) prosecutor, Rafi Maqsood, disputed the claims, telling the court that after meeting Imran, Safdar had never informed the bench that his client was being held in solitary confinement. "He only told the court that he had been instructed to argue the suspension of sentence applications and not the appeals," the prosecutor said. Safdar responded that a miscellaneous application raising the issue had already been filed in the pending appeals. The prosecutor argued that the miscellaneous application had already been dismissed, while Safdar maintained that it had not. The NAB prosecutor further contended that the matter could now be taken to the Supreme Court and could not be pursued through a constitutional petition under Article 199. The petition, filed under Article 199 of the Constitution through a legal team led by Safdar and Advocate Salman Akram Raja, names the superintendent and deputy superintendent of Adiala Jail, the Punjab inspector general of prisons, the NAB chairman, the FIA director general, the medical superintendent of PIMS, and the state as respondents. The petition contended that no court awarded the 74-year-old former premier solitary confinement in either the Al-Qadir Trust Case or the Toshakhana-II case, yet jail authorities have allegedly kept him in isolation for nearly 22 hours a day over the last six months without any lawful sanction. Read More: Imran's 'solitary prison' challenged Safdar requested the court to summon copies of the miscellaneous application and any related order from the earlier proceedings, maintaining that no order had been passed by the chief justice's bench on the solitary confinement issue. After hearing the arguments, the court removed the registrar's office's objections, directed that the petitions be assigned regular numbers, and held that the question of maintainability would be decided on the judicial side. At Safdar's request, the court adjourned further hearing until Tuesday. Imran and Bushra Bibi remain incarcerated in Rawalpindi's Adiala Jail. They were sentenced on December 20, 2025, to 17 years in prison in the Toshakhana-II case, which pertains to allegations that the couple unlawfully retained a Bulgari jewellery set gifted by the Saudi crown prince during an official visit to Saudi Arabia. In January last year, an Islamabad accountability court sentenced Imran to 14 years and Bushra Bibi to seven years in prison in the reference filed by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB). The IHC is currently hearing appeals seeking suspension of these sentences.

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