IHC orders lawyers' jail meeting with Imran Khan and Bushra Bibi

The Islamabad High Court on Tuesday ordered that lawyers Sardar Latif Khosa and Barrister Salman Safdar be allowed to meet Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi at Adiala jail. According to The Express Tribune, the meeting is to last one hour.

A bench led by Chief Justice Sarfraz Dogar, with Justice Muhammad Asif, heard the appeals of Imran Khan and Bushra Bibi against their sentences in the £190 million case. The court adjourned the appeals for 10 days and directed counsel to begin arguments at the next hearing. It also directed that paper books be provided and prepared before that date.

Khosa told the court that an earlier order allowing him to meet Imran Khan had not been implemented. The chief justice said that order had been for Salman Safdar, not Khosa. The court asked Islamabad Advocate General Naveed Malik whether a meeting could be arranged within one or two days, and Khosa was directed to meet Imran Khan within two days. The advocate general said around 10,000 inmates were involved in the matter. Chief Justice Dogar said: "I want to remove this obstacle and proceed with the matter."

Safdar said he had met Imran Khan after seven months and Bushra Bibi after 11 months, and that he had filed an affidavit in the case for the first time. He said Bushra Bibi was wearing dark glasses, her eyesight had deteriorated and her next operation was scheduled for 15 November. He said Imran Khan's blood pressure had risen above 190, putting him at risk of a brain haemorrhage. Safdar told the court: "I felt embarrassed when I met my client after 11 months." He also said: "If I argue the appeal and my client becomes blind in jail, I will regret it."

Express News reported that Safdar sought a medical board and temporary bail of four to six weeks for treatment, and asked for complete medical reports from Adiala jail. He said he did not know who was treating Imran Khan or where, and had not yet filed a fresh bail application. He also said the appeals of the two involve 32 cases each pending in courts.

The Islamabad Advocate General said medical treatment was being provided. According to Express News, he said Bushra Bibi received full treatment on 18 April and was checked by a medical board on 8 November, and he read out a Supreme Court order dated 18 August. The chief justice noted that applications on Imran Khan's health were pending before the Federal Constitutional Court. A National Accountability Bureau prosecutor asked Safdar to submit an undertaking, and Daily Pakistan reported the meetings could go ahead provided the defence committed to starting arguments at the next hearing.