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• Salman Safdar meets ‘healthy’ PTI chief in jail, will report back to court about his living conditions
• Aleema, other sisters barred from meeting brother; demand he be treated by ‘trusted physician’
• Salman Akram Raja says willing to engage in talks, does not rule out another ‘long march’
ISLAMABAD: Following the intervention of the Supreme Court, PTI founder Imran Khan was allowed to meet party lawyer Salman Safdar on Tuesday, while his sisters staged a protest outside Adiala jail after being barred from meeting him yet again.
The meeting between the incarcerated PTI founder and Mr Safdar came after the top court appointed the latter as amicus curiae (friend of the court) and directed him to submit a report to the two-member bench, headed by Chief Justice Yahya Afridi, detailing the living conditions of the former premier in jail.
After the meeting, the lawyer did not share details about their interaction, which lasted almost three hours, saying he would be able to divulge information only after submitting his report to the apex court.
He, however, did say the PTI chief was fine and appeared healthy.
Meanwhile, Aleema Khan and his other sisters were not allowed to meet Mr Khan, despite court orders. She said that police officials told her the meeting would not be allowed.
Though Mr Safdar claimed Imran Khan was “fine”, Aleema expressed concerns about her brother’s health. She claimed there was a possibility that the government was covering up health issues faced by her brother.
She said her brother was being treated with eye drops, due to which, according to Bushra Bibi’s daughter, his eyesight has been blurry for weeks.
Aleema Khan said it was unacceptable that Imran was not being examined by his trusted physicians and demanded that her brother be treated by doctors from Shifa International Hospital.
SC allows lawyer to meet Imran
Earlier in the day, the two-member bench, comprising the CJP and Justice Shahid Bilal Hassan, resumed the hearing, during which CJP Afridi appointed Mr Safdar as “friend of the court”, directing him to visit Adiala Jail and submit a written report regarding Imran’s living conditions today.
PTI counsel Latif Khosa and Attorney General for Pakistan (AGP) Mansoor Usman Awan also appeared before the court.
At the outset of the hearing, CJP Afridi barred Mr Khosa from speaking, while AGP Awan said he had “submitted a written response to the chamber in light of the order of August 24, 2023”.
In 2023, the SC had directed the AGP to submit a report on Imran’s “living conditions in jail”. He informed the court that the PTI founder was in Attock Jail at the time of the order.
“We had submitted a written report to the chamber on August 28, 2023,” the AGP said, adding that a medical report from August 5 to August 18 was also included.
In response, CJP Afridi said, “After the August 24, 2023 order, there has not been any order on record that was satisfactory to the SC.”
In the court order, available with Dawn, it was noted that the report submitted by the AGP pertained to the period when the former premier was imprisoned in District Jail, Attock, in 2023. Hence, it maintained that the court “considered it appropriate that a report regarding the present ‘living conditions of the petitioner in jail’ be submitted by the Superintendent, Central Prison, Rawalpindi”.
Subsequently, the court appointed Mr Safdar as amicus curiae.
CJP Afridi directed that Safdar should “not be kept waiting outside Adiala”, assuring him that, in case he encountered any issues, the CJP’s personal staff would be available.
Mr Safdar, addressing the court, asked whether “the scope of the report was limited to living conditions only”, citing concerns regarding Imran’s health in light of a recent medical procedure.
“Submit a report of the living conditions only,” CJP Afridi responded.
AGP Awan also requested the court to “include in the order that a report had already been submitted”.
Towards the end of the hearing, Mr Khosa again took the rostrum, seeking that his request to meet Imran be accepted as well. However, the request was again rejected.
The court then adjourned the hearing till February 12.
PTI ready for long march
Separately, PTI Secretary General Salman Akram Raja said that the former premier believed in dialogue but that talks must adhere to the Constitution. However, he also reiterated that the PTI was ready to launch a ‘long march’ if the ‘system’ failed to accept its defeat.
Speaking to reporters after the hearing, Mr Raja said the party did not engage in backdoor dialogue, adding that the prime minister had indicated talks could be held with Opposition Leader in the National Assembly Mehmood Khan Achakzai, and that the party was waiting for the initiative to materialise.
“Everything is possible — strikes, long marches, which are their constitutional rights — this is how independence from the British was achieved,” he warned, reiterating that the PTI was fully prepared for a long march.
Salman Raja also termed the Supreme Court’s decision allowing Salman Safdar to meet Imran as a positive step. He added that the day was also set for meetings with family and legal counsel and urged the Islamabad High Court to ensure the implementation of its decision for biweekly meetings.
The PTI secretary general also asserted that the bloodshed of innocent people in Balochistan and Islamabad must not be treated as a spectacle.
Published in Dawn, February 11th, 2026
