LAHORE: The Lahore High Court Bar Asso­cia­ti­­on (LHCBA) and the Lah­ore Bar Association (LBA) on Tuesday condemned the solitary confinement of PTI founding chairman Imran Khan and deman­ded that his isolation be ended.

The sitting and former office-bearers of both bar associations, currently led by the Hamid Khan-led professional group, held a joint press conference, criticising the solitary confinement of the former prime minister.

Senator Hamid Khan said that the government was targeting Imran Khan through political victimisation as he was not being allowed to meet anyone.

PTI MNA Advocate Sar­dar Latif Khosa demanded that the solitary confinement be ended and Mr Khan be allowed to meet his personal physician and sisters.

LHCBA President Babar Murtaza Khan said if the government could facilitate negotiations between the United States and Iran, it should also be able to engage with its own political leadership.

LBA President Irfan Hayat Bajwa said the constitutional rights of every prisoner and citizen must be respected, adding that prisoners’ rights are also clearly defined under international protocols.

Barrister Salman Safdar, the counsel for Imran Khan, said that the failure to timely hear the cases of the PTI founder and his wife was alarming.

The counsel said he was not being allowed to obt­a­­in a duly signed “vakalatnama” (powers of attorn­­ey) from his client. He qu­­estioned how cases could be pursued in courts without a power of attorney.

He argued that no citizen can be deprived of the right to defend themselves in legal proceedings.

Published in Dawn, April 15th, 2026