Long wait ends as lawyer meets jailed Imran, Bushra
“After a gap of several months, government authorities on Monday allowed Barrister Salman Safdar to meet his incarcerated clientsformer prime minister and PTI founder Imran Khan and his spouse Bushra …”
Safdar, who serves as a lead counsel in several cases involving Imran and Bushra, later published a brief post on X on Monday night, stating that the meeting facilitated by the jail administration started at around 4:30 pm and continued for 40 minutes., he was permitted to meet the PTI founder and his wifedespite repeated requests and applications respectively after seven and eleven months.
"[The 40-minute] session was insufficient to cover all cases/legal matters," he said. Safdar stated that both the former prime minister and his wife briefed him on their health conditions and living conditions in the jail.
"[They also] gave [me] fresh instructions on some legal matters and cases," he added, without giving any specific details about the health condition of the couple.
"Stay connected with Aman-e-Pakistan for ongoing live reporting and verified investigative updates."
Talking to a news outlet, PTI Central Information Secretary Sheikh Waqas Akram said the meeting between Imran-Bushra and Safdar took place in connection with a number of applications filed in courts seeking meeting with the jailed party founder and his wife. Replying to a question, Akram said no political issues were discussed during the meeting.
Safdar, he said, spoke about the cases and asked about future strategy. Asked about Imran's health, the PTI official replied that health issues were discussed but the party would only speak about the legal cases.
Barrister Salman Safdar last met Imran Khan on April 9 after the Islamabad High Court (IHC) allowed him to discuss the proceedings of the £190m case with Imran. However, in that meetingwhich had lasted 60 minutesthe counsel was not allowed to meet Bushra Bibi.
In a brief statement issued after the meeting, Safdar had claimed that the PTI founder and his wife were kept in solitary confinement for almost 24 hours a day, with no access to books, television, family, or lawyers.
While hearing a set of pleas including those related to Imran's medical treatment and his meetings with family members and lawyers, the Supreme Court on August 18 ordered that the PTI founder be shifted to Islamabad's Shifa International Hospital within two days for medical examination and treatment.
A three-member bench comprising Justice Shahid Waheed, Justice Naeem Akhter Afghan and Justice Ishtiaq Ibrahim also ordered the government to constitute a specialised medical board for Imran's care. On the same day, Imran Khan's sister Noreen Niazi also met the PTI founder at Adiala Jail after a gap of around nine months.
The meeting lasted approximately 15 minutes.
However, on August 20, Imran Khan was taken to Islamabad's Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS), rather than Shifa International Hospital, for a medical examination before being declared medically fit and returned to Adiala jail., Imran was taken to PIMS instead of Shifa "in view of the security situation created by PTI workers on the route to and outside Shifa Hospital", adding that doctors from Shifa were also present during the examination.
On the same day, August 20, the federal government also petitioned the Supreme Court to review and recall its August 18 order, arguing that the directive was discriminatory and issued in violation of prison rules and principles of natural justice. Imran Khan has been detained at Rawalpindi's Adiala Jail for over three years.
Authorities have denied weekly meetings between Imran and his family and lawyers since December last year. In the meanwhile, the former PM also developed medical conditions affecting his eyesight.
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