Former Pak PM Imran Khan & wife move court seeking jail amenities in line with ‘international standards’

Islamabad, Jul 23 (PTI) Jailed Pakistan prime minister has moved a top court here to get jail amenities in line with international standards for him and his wife, according to a media report on Tuesday.

Geo News reported that Khan and Bushra Bibi filed the petition at Islamabad High Court on Monday to seek “high-quality facilities” at Rawalpindi’s Adiala Jail where they are lodged.

The 71-year-old cricketer-turned-politician, who was ousted from his office via a no-confidence motion in 2022, has been in prison for more than a year after his arrest in various cases, including the Toshakhana, cipher, and the un-Islamic marriage cases. Bushra, 49, has also been behind bars for months in the Un-Islamic marriage case as well as the Toshakhana corruption case.

In the plea filed by their lawyer Azhar Siddique, the secretaries of cabinet, interior and law have been made parties. It was also prayed that the Punjab chief secretary, the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), the National Accountability Bureau (NAB), and Islamabad Inspector General are also made parties in the case, Geo News reported.

Additionally, the IHC was urged to order the Adiala Jail administration to ensure the implementation of international conventions, constitutional sections and jail rules for the political inmates.

The plea also requested that a complete list of those persons who wanted to meet the jailed Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder at the Rawalpindi jail should be summoned, as well as a report on the duration of their meetings.

The lawyer, in his petition, also pleaded with the court to ascertain the reasons from relevant authorities if the ex-premier was kept in solitary confinement.

The fresh petition was filed after Khan claimed in an interview with British newspaper The Sunday Times through his lawyers that he was imprisoned in a death cell, where “terrorists” are kept to ensure “they have no contact with anyone”.

However, the federal cabinet rejected Khan’s claims on Monday and termed his prison cell a presidential suite” which is “better than a middle-class person’s house”.

The former prime minister has claimed many times that he’s not being provided several facilities, however, the government submitted documentary evidence of facilities being provided to the PTI founder in Adiala Jail, rebutting his claims that he was being kept in solitary confinement.

The photos shared with the court showed that the PTI founder was provided with several facilities, such as an exercise bike and stretching belt for physical fitness, books, a separate kitchen, a special menu, an exclusive gallery for walking, LED, a room cooler and a study table since he’s a former prime minister.

Earlier this month, there was hope that the former couple would be released from prison after a court suspended their sentence in the Toshakhana corruption case, while other courts overturned his convictions in the cipher and iddat cases, respectively.

However, their hopes were dashed when NAB arrested them on fresh charges related to the sale of state gifts.

The chances of Khan’s release from jail further dimmed after the Lahore police declared his arrest in several cases related to the May 9, 2023, riots that erupted after his detainment from the IHC premises last year in which protesters targeted government and military installations.

In the new Toshakhan corruption case, the National Accountability Bureau (NAB), the anti-corruption watchdog, accused the couple of purchasing a jewellery set from the Toshakhana and selling it by violating the laws.

Toshakhana is a repository where presents handed to government officials from foreign officials are kept.

According to Toshakhana rules, gifts/presents and other such materials received by persons to whom these rules apply shall be reported to the Cabinet Division.

Earlier, the two were arrested on July 13 following their acquittal in the un-Islamic marriage case.

Khan on Monday expressed concerns that he and his wife, Bushra Bibi, might be sent to a military jail in connection with the May 9 riot cases.

The cricketer-turned-politician was speaking to the media during a hearing of the Al-Qadir Trust case in the Adiala Jail Rawalpindi, according to The Express Tribune newspaper.

“They plan to send me to a military jail for the May 9 incidents,” he told reporters.

He lamented the biased treatment meted out to PTI workers detained in military jails, suggesting a plan to also incarcerate him under similar charges.

The PTI founder was booked on the charges of abetment in attacks on Lahore Corps Commander House known as Jinnah House, Askari Tower, and Shadman police station on May 9, 2023.

Supporters of Khan attacked several important government buildings and army installations following his arrest in an alleged corruption case in May last year.