‘Will order what is possible under jail rules’: Islamabad HC Chief Justice
ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Tuesday informed Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) that only services permitted under the jail’s rules would be offered to PTI Chairman Imran Khan, Geo News reported. “Tell us what the rules are, we will order [the facilities] accordingly,” IHC Chief Justice Aamer Farooq said today, adding that only those facilities would be provided to the former prime minister that the law permits.
These comments were made by the chief justice of the IHC during a PTI petition session in which Khan’s transfer from Attock Jail to Adiala Jail was being discussed. The PTI leader was found guilty by a district and sessions court in the federal capital of engaging in “corrupt practises” in connection with the state gift depository, which he denies, and was given a three-year prison sentence in the Toshakhana case on August 5.
Following his arrest, Khan was sent to the Attock Jail, where he was reportedly housed in a cramped cell with inadequate utilities The plea for his transfer and an upgrade of the facilities supplied to him, together with the Registrar’s Office’s objections, was heard today by the IHC’s highest court. Sher Afzal Marwat, Khan’s attorney, went before the judge during the hearing and displayed the PTI leader’s power of attorney.
There are prison regulations, Marwat informed the judge. The case was subsequently scheduled for hearing tomorrow after Justice Aamer disregarded the Registrar’s Office’s objections, Geo News reported. Given Khan’s “education, habits, and social and political status,” the PTI petitioned for improved prison accommodations yesterday. It requested that his family, personal doctor, and legal counsel for the PTI chair be let to speak with him. “Keeping in view the petitioner’s social and political status, his education, and his being accustomed to a better living style, the Petitioner was entitled to A-Class facilities in terms of Rule 243 read with Rule 248 of Pakistan Prison Rules,” the petition read.
