Supreme Court seeks report on Imran Khan jail meetings

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court on Monday directed the Adiala Jail administration to submit within three weeks a detailed report on meetings held between incarcerated Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan and his family members, lawyers and friends during his nearly three years in custody.

The order was issued by a three-member bench headed by Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar while hearing contempt petitions filed by PTI Secretary General Salman Akram Raja and others. The petitions challenge an Oct 23, 2025 order of the Islamabad High Court (IHC), which had dismissed a contempt plea seeking enforcement of the court’s earlier directions regarding the PTI founder’s visitation rights.

Court seeks full meeting record

At the outset of the hearing, Islamabad Advocate General Naveed Malik told the bench that a comprehensive report would be placed before the court and requested time for that purpose. The bench then instructed the Adiala administration to furnish complete details of the meetings, including their dates and number.

During the proceedings, Punjab Additional Advocate General Waseem Mumtaz Malik objected to the maintainability of the petitions, arguing that an appeal could not be filed against what he described as a consensus order passed by the IHC with the consent of the parties. Justice Mazhar, however, asked for specifics regarding the meetings and observed that a complete report should be submitted.

Justice Mazhar also recalled that the IHC had been assured that no media talks would be held outside the jail, and questioned whether PTI had adhered to that undertaking. In response, Salman Akram Raja told the court that the IHC order was not unanimous. Justice Mazhar observed that if the order was not unanimous, a revision application should have been filed before the high court, while Justice Musarrat Hilali said that if there was an objection to the high court order, a review should have been sought.

Petitioner raises confinement and health concerns

During the hearing, Salman Akram Raja asked the Supreme Court to obtain an updated report on jail meetings and said the PTI founder had been kept in solitary confinement and was suffering from an eye ailment. He also recalled that he had appeared before the IHC and had assured the bench there would be no media talk outside the jail, but added that his statement could not be applied to others because no other lawyer had been present in court that day.

The Supreme Court later adjourned the matter for three weeks and sought a written response.

Arguments in the petition

In the petition, Salman Akram Raja argued that the IHC, while disposing of the contempt plea, had relied only on an oral assertion by the Adiala superintendent about alleged compliance with previous judicial directions. The plea stated that the high court did not summon the relevant record regarding implementation of its earlier orders on regular meetings with Imran Khan at Adiala Jail.

According to the petition, this amounted to a miscarriage of justice and a failure to exercise constitutional jurisdiction under Article 199 of the Constitution. It further contended that the IHC had failed to take into account its own March 24, 2025 judgement, which, according to the petition, had given a clear direction regarding visitation rights for the PTI founder’s legal team and nominated coordinators. The petition maintained that executive authorities were legally bound to comply with judicial orders unless those orders were modified or set aside by a higher forum, and said the high court had disposed of the matter on administrative grounds without protecting those rights.