PTI goes to court against restrictions on meeting Imran
• Junaid Akbar files petition in IHC, accuses govt of violating jail manual
• Says party leaders to raise issue with CJP, highlight ‘unfair treatment’
• Barrister Saif claims restrictions meant to pressure Imran into making a deal
• Punjab govt denies restrictions on Imran’s jail visits; Azma accuses PTI of playing ‘victim card’
ISLAMABAD/LAHORE: Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) Khyber Pakhtunkhwa President Junaid Akbar filed a petition in the Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Friday seeking permission to meet incarcerated former prime minister and party founder Imran Khan.
Speaking to the media after filing the petition, Mr Akbar, who also serves as the chairman of the Public Accounts Committee, accused the government of violating the jail manual by denying meetings with the former premier. He warned of increasing provincial intolerance and growing tensions between state institutions and the PTI founding chairman.
Mr Akbar stressed that sacrifices were being made for the supremacy of the Constitution and the law. He added that senior PTI leaders would raise the issue with the chief justice, highlighting what he termed as unfair treatment of the party’s founder.
On political developments, Mr Akbar disclosed that PTI was considering negotiations with Maulana Fazlur Rehman, with the responsibility for the talks to be assigned in consultation with Imran Khan.
He clarified that KP government spokesperson Barrister Muhammad Ali Saif remained part of the government, while Muhammad Ali Durrani had no association with PTI.
Punjab govt denies restrictions
Meanwhile, the Punjab government said on Friday that no restrictions had been imposed on meetings with Imran Khan.
“The PTI founder’s family, legal team and party leaders continue to meet him routinely,” Punjab Information Minister Azma Bokhari said in a statement.
She criticised PTI’s demands, saying, “They treat the jail like an amusement park, expecting unrestricted access for anyone at any time.”
She added, “When the PTI runs out of strategies, it resorts to playing the victim card. Writing letters has not and will not secure him [Imran Khan] any deals.” Ms Bokhari lamented that the party writes letters on the one hand but launches propaganda campaigns on the other.
Commenting on PTI’s protest in London during the army chief’s visit, she said, “About 50 PTI supporters protested the army chief’s visit, aligning with the agendas of foreign agencies. Despite claiming to represent overseas Pakistanis, every call made by PTI has been decisively rejected by them.”
Meanwhile, Barrister Saif called for the immediate removal of restrictions on meetings with Imran Khan, describing them as evidence of the government’s panic.
He said the purpose of these restrictions and other harsh measures was to pressure Mr Khan into making a deal. However, he asserted that the PTI founder, “unlike Nawaz Sharif”, would not become part of any such arrangement.
Barrister Saif said that by imposing this ban, the government was not only violating fundamental human rights but also committing contempt of court.
He said the PTI founder had left the “illegitimate government” in a state of unrest, depriving them of peace.
The party has also repeatedly insisted that Mr Khan wouldn’t make any deal for his release from jail.
Earlier this week, PTI central leader and former National Assembly speaker Asad Qaiser insisted at a gathering in Swabi that the party’s founding chairman would never make a deal under any circumstances and would continue his struggle for the “supremacy of the Constitution”.
Published in Dawn, February 22nd, 2025