Rawalpindi: Former prime minister and PTI founder Imran Khan has formally requested the Rawalpindi City Police Officer (CPO) to register a case against Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz and eight police officials, accusing them of denying him basic rights in prison.
According to Imran Khan’s lawyer, Tabish Farooq, a petition was submitted via courier to CPO Khalid Hamdani. The request names Maryam Nawaz, the Adiala Jail superintendent, ASP Zainab, SHO Aizaz, and the Adiala outpost in-charge among the eight individuals against whom legal action is sought.
The petition alleges that Imran Khan is being deprived of standard prisoner facilities at Adiala Jail, claiming that his confinement conditions include being kept in a dark cell without proper lighting, and that his family members are unlawfully denied visitation rights. It asserts these measures are being carried out on the directives of the Punjab chief minister, citing her earlier remarks labeling Imran a “seditionist.”
Furthermore, the application accuses ASP Zainab, SHO Aizaz, and the outpost in-charge of colluding to harass Khan’s family, and of violating high court orders by obstructing visits from his sisters. Given that Adiala Jail operates under the Punjab government, the petition insists that a case be registered against all eight accused officials.
Related Court Proceedings
In a separate development, the Special Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) Rawalpindi granted an exemption from appearance to Aleema Khanum, Imran Khan’s sister, who is facing charges in connection with the PTI protest on November 26. Her counsel submitted a request for a one-day exemption, which was accepted, and the case hearing was adjourned until September 2. Aleema and other party members face charges of violent protest, arson, and resisting police, filed by the Sadiqabad Police Station.
PTI Criticizes Punjab CM’s Japan Trip
Meanwhile, PTI sharply criticized Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz for what it termed a “royal-style” foreign trip to Japan, accusing her of plunging the province into a “dangerous debt trap.” PTI Information Secretary Waqas Akram alleged that Rs405 billion had been borrowed by the Punjab government in just 38 days of the new fiscal year (July 1 to August 8), as per State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) figures.
Waqas demanded a thorough probe by state institutions into the alleged misuse of public funds. He also condemned the government’s handling of wheat prices, accusing it of deliberately lowering prices during harvest season to punish farmers who did not vote for the ruling party. He alleged that middlemen and mafias benefitted by purchasing wheat cheaply, only for the government to later raise prices at the expense of struggling farmers.
Jail Administration Response
When contacted, jail authorities rejected Imran Khan’s allegations, saying, “There is no precedent in the past of such an application by any inmate.” They added that similar claims had been dismissed by various benches of the Islamabad High Court and other courts, which in more than 150 rulings had termed the allegations “baseless and fabricated,” upholding the government and jail administration’s stance.
