Aleema moves IHC against Imran's 'illegal solitary confinement'

ISLAMABAD: Aleema Khan on Thursday approached the Islamabad High Court against the alleged prolonged solitary confinement of jailed PTI founder Imran Khan at Adiala Jail, terming it illegal, unconstitutional and in violation of basic human rights.

The petition, filed through Barrister Salman Safdar and Salman Akram Raja, named prison authorities, the Punjab prisons chief, the National Accountability Bureau, the FIA, the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences and the state as respondents.

Imran Khan, imprisoned since August 2023, is currently serving a 14-year sentence in the £190 million Al-Qadir Trust case while also facing proceedings in the Toshakhana-II reference.

The petition argued that no court had ordered solitary confinement in any case against the former prime minister, yet he had allegedly been kept isolated for nearly 22 hours daily over the past six months without lawful authority.

Citing the Pakistan Penal Code and Prison Rules, the plea maintained that solitary confinement could only be imposed through a court order and for a limited duration, describing the current conditions as “inhuman and degrading treatment”.

The petition further claimed that the 74-year-old PTI founder had lost 85 per cent vision in his right eye due to a medical condition for which he had been taken to Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences four times for treatment.

According to the filing, neither family members nor legal counsel had been informed about the exact nature of the illness or the treatment being administered. It alleged that despite repeated injections, no significant improvement had occurred and Khan had not been formally admitted for comprehensive medical care.

The plea also accused prison authorities of restricting meetings with lawyers, family members and PTI office-bearers, while claiming that reading material, television access and legal consultations were being denied.

It further alleged that Khan’s wife, Bushra Bibi, was also being held in prolonged isolation at the same facility.

Invoking Articles 9 and 14 of the Constitution, the petition argued that prolonged solitary confinement amounted to torture and violated constitutional guarantees of dignity and personal liberty. It also referred to the United Nations Nelson Mandela Rules, which prohibit indefinite and extended isolation of prisoners.

The petition requested the Islamabad High Court to declare Khan’s alleged solitary confinement and incommunicado detention unlawful and unconstitutional.

PTI leaders and family members have repeatedly expressed concerns over Khan’s health and prison conditions over the past year, while earlier this month his counsel urged the court to consider his release on humanitarian grounds due to his deteriorating health and eye condition.