KARACHI: The Sindh High Court on Wednesday issued notices to the ministry of interior and the federal law officer on a petition seeking safety and security of former prime minister Imran Khan in the Adiala Jail.

The two-judge headed by Chief Justice Aqeel Ahmed Abbasi directed the respondent as well as a federal law officer to file reply/comments till April 2.

Petitioner Abdul Wahab Baloch submitted that he was the president of Insaf Lawyers Forum of Sindh, the legal wing of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf.

He said that the party’s founder was implicated in politically motivated cases and currently incarcerated in Central Prison Rawalpindi (Adiala Jail).

Citing the federation through the ministry of interior as respondent, he contended that a ban had been imposed by the jail authorities on meetings with the former prime minister on the pretext that he had serious life threats and some terrorists had been arrested around/near the detention facility with explosive material.

The petitioner also argued that under the constitution, the federation was responsible for ensuring safety and security of all individuals/citizens of Pakistan, including the detained founder of PTI.

He further maintained that the current environment and prevailing circumstances raised serious concerns about the safety of Mr Khan while in the past some political leaders and high-profile figures had been subjected to harm, including two former prime ministers Liaquat Ali Khan and Benazir Bhutto.

The petitioner said that despite such security concerns, the interior ministry was negligent towards the performance of its constitutionally bound duty to take extraordinary measures to ensure safety of the former prime minister.

He asked the SHC to issue directive to the respondent to ensure safety and security of Mr Khan in the Adiala Jail.

During the preliminary hearing, the bench questioned the maintainability of the petition and asked the lawyer for petitioner as to why the Lahore High Court Rawalpindi bench had not been approached in this regard.

The counsel submitted that they were not seeking directive for Punjab government but for federation to ensure safety of the former prime minister.

The bench issued pre-admission notices to the ministry of interior as well as a federal law officer for next hearing.

Published in Dawn, March 21st, 2024