ISLAMABAD: Leaders of the opposition Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) on Thursday blasted the government for not allowing them to have a meeting with incarcerated former prime minister Imran Khan, terming it a violation of the order of the Islamabad High Court (IHC).

Leader of Opposition in the National Assembly Omar Ayub Khan while talking to media outside the jail alleged that the jail was being controlled from someone else, implying that the jail superintendent was powerless in this regard.

Mr Khan said it was nothing but “violation” of the court’s order which, he said, had clearly ordered that the family members and party leaders would meet Imran Khan two days of the week.

The opposition leader once again highlighted the alleged political victimisation of the party members at the hands of the authorities, advising them to focus on curbing terrorism, instead of running after the opposition members.

A three-judge IHC bench on March 24 had reinstated the twice-a-week meeting schedule for former prime minister Imran Khan while restricting media interactions following these meetings.

The decision had been announced by the bench comprising Acting Chief Justice Sardar Mohammad Sarfaraz Dogar, Justice Arbab Mohammad Tahir, and Justice Mohammad Azam Khan.

According to the court order, the PTI founder would be allowed to meet designated individuals on Tuesdays and Thur¬sdays. However, attendees were prohibited from making any media statements outside the jail premises.

Mr Khan said they were not scheduled to hold talks with the media outside the jail in line with the court’s order, but they were doing so as they had not been allowed to meet their leader.

Sources told Dawn that the court’s written order had not yet been released and, therefore, the jail authorities refused to allow the meeting in the absence of any written order.

Opposition Leader in the Senate Shibli Faraz was of the view that the government’s alleged act of violating the court’s order would provide an opportunity to ‘other forces’ in the country to do the same.

Earlier on Tuesday, Imran Khan’s sister Aleema Khan had also not been allowed to meet her brother in the jail.

Published in Dawn, March 28th, 2025