Imran Khan in Good Health, Says Lawyer After Jail Meeting Allowed by Supreme Court

RAWALPINDI (MNN); PTI lawyer Salman Safdar on Tuesday met former prime minister Imran Khan at Adiala Jail and said the party founder was in good health and appeared physically fit.

The meeting lasted nearly three hours and took place after the Supreme Court earlier in the day permitted Safdar to visit Imran Khan in his capacity as amicus curiae.

Speaking to reporters outside the jail, Safdar said Imran Khan looked healthy and fine but refrained from sharing details of the discussion, stating that he was required to submit a written report to the Supreme Court first. He said further information would be shared after submitting the report.

Earlier, the Supreme Court allowed Safdar to meet Imran Khan, appointing him as a “friend of the court”. The decision followed a hearing on a petition related to the former prime minister’s living conditions in jail.

A day earlier, a request for an urgent meeting with Imran Khan, filed by senior PTI leader Latif Khosa, had been rejected by a two-member bench comprising Chief Justice of Pakistan Yahya Afridi and Justice Shahid Bilal Hassan. The bench had observed that such an order could not be passed without hearing the government and issued a notice in this regard.

During Tuesday’s hearing, Chief Justice Afridi directed Salman Safdar to visit Adiala Jail and submit a written report on Imran Khan’s living conditions by Wednesday. PTI counsel Latif Khosa and Attorney General for Pakistan Mansoor Usman Awan were also present in court.

At the start of the hearing, the chief justice barred Khosa from addressing the court, while the attorney general informed the bench that a written response had already been submitted in line with the Supreme Court’s order dated August 24, 2023.

The attorney general said that a report regarding Imran Khan’s jail conditions had been submitted on August 28, 2023, along with a medical report covering the period from August 5 to August 18, when the PTI founder was lodged in Attock Jail.

However, the chief justice observed that the submitted report related to an earlier period and did not address Imran Khan’s current conditions at Rawalpindi’s Central Jail. The court ruled that a fresh report on the present living conditions of the petitioner should be submitted by the superintendent of Adiala Jail.

Subsequently, Salman Safdar was appointed amicus curiae, with the chief justice expressing full confidence in him and directing that he be granted unhindered access to Imran Khan. The court also instructed that Safdar should not be made to wait outside the jail and assured assistance from the chief justice’s personal staff in case of any difficulty.

Safdar sought clarification on whether the scope of the report included health concerns, citing a recent medical procedure undergone by Imran Khan. The chief justice directed him to limit the report strictly to living conditions.

Attorney General Awan requested the court to note on record that a report had already been submitted earlier.

Later, Latif Khosa again requested permission to meet Imran Khan, but the plea was once more rejected. The hearing was adjourned until February 12.

Separately, PTI Secretary General Salman Akram Raja, while speaking to reporters, referred to his recent meeting with the chief justice, saying Imran Khan’s incarceration and health were discussed. He termed the interaction “beneficial” and said some progress had been made.

However, he clarified that no final conclusions should be drawn, stating that the party was only seeking humane treatment. “We want the system to return to humanity,” he said.

Imran Khan has been in custody since August 5, 2023, and is currently imprisoned at Central Jail Rawalpindi.

According to a memorandum submitted by PTI to the Supreme Court registrar last week, the party sought immediate visitation rights for Imran Khan with his family, doctors, lawyers and friends. The memorandum alleged repeated violations of his rights as a prisoner and raised concerns about a reported undisclosed medical procedure carried out in Islamabad without informing his family, in violation of jail rules.