• Bench hears multiple petitions about ban on PTI founder’s meeting with family, lawyers; orders pleas be fixed within three weeks; seeks response from Adiala admin, Punjab, Islamabad AGs
• IHC refers to CJ petition for meeting between KP chief minister and ex-PM on provincial budget
ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court on Thursday heard multiple petitions about restrictions on visitation rights enjoyed by incarcerated PTI founder Imran Khan, while directing the Adiala jail superintendent, the advocates general of Punjab and Islamabad, and the Punjab home secretary to submit their responses within three weeks.
The directions were issued by a three-member bench consisting of Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar, Justice Musarrat Hilali, and Justice Shahid Bilal Hassan in response to a petition filed by PTI Secretary General Salman Akram Raja.
Mr Raja had challenged the Oct 23, 2025, decision of the Islamabad High Court (IHC) in which the court rejected his contempt petition about restrictions on Mr Khan’s visitation rights. The case was fixed in line with an earlier understanding reached during a May 20 meeting between Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Yahya Afridi and Secretary General Salman Raja, who is representing Imran Khan in different cases.
During the hearing on Thursday, Mr Raja said that despite IHC’s March 24 directions, meetings with the PTI founder were not being allowed and the court order had not been implemented to date. The counsel highlighted that their appeal had been fixed in the court after eight months, saying that there was a ban on meetings with Imran Khan; therefore, there was an urgency.
Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar said that the bench will not be available next week, but the appeal will be scheduled for a hearing soon. The court also issued instructions to schedule the appeals for hearing within three weeks, besides giving directives for bringing the IHC’s Oct 23 order on record.
Uzma Khan petition
Similarly, the same bench, while hearing the petition by Imran’s sister Dr Uzma Khan, directed the petitioner to furnish ‘wakalatnama’ (power of attorney) and file a new application for an early hearing on her appeal. Upon the receipt of the power of attorney and the application for early hearing, the Registrar’s Office will schedule the case for hearing, the court observed. Advocate Uzair Karamat Bhandari argued that the appeal had not been numbered in the Supreme Court for the past month, whereas the power of attorney from the PTI founder had not been received in two months.
At this, Justice Mazhar inquired whether the power of attorney was being submitted on Thursday, to which the lawyer said that initially, the power of attorney was not available, so the appeal was filed through a special power of attorney. During the hearing, Justice Shahid Bilal remarked that if the case required an early hearing, a regular early hearing application should be filed.
Mashal’s plea for meeting
Meanwhile, the Supreme Court also issued notices to the respondents on a petition moved by Senator Mashal Azam through barrister Syed Ali Zafar regarding restrictions on meetings between lawyers, family members, and former PM Imran Khan, directing that the matter be fixed for hearing again within three weeks.
Barrister Zafar contended that Senator Mashal was counsel for Imran Khan in several cases. However, despite the court’s directions, she was allegedly prevented from meeting her client in connection with those proceedings. Consequently, she filed a contempt petition before the IHC.
According to the petitioner, while the contempt proceedings were being heard by Justice Sardar Muhammad Istiqaq Khan, the matter was suddenly transferred to a division bench. In the division bench, the contempt petition was disposed of through a consent order recorded on the basis of a statement made by senior lawyer Salman Akram Raja.
Barrister Zafar argued before the Supreme Court that Senator Mashal had neither authorised Mr Raja to represent her in the contempt proceedings nor consented to the disposal of her petition.
The Supreme Court was requested to suspend the operation of the IHC ruling during the pendency of the petition and order an immediate medical examination of Imran Khan by physicians of his choice, including Khurram Mirza, Asim Yusuf, Faisal Sultan and Samina Niazi. It also sought directions allowing Imran access to his physicians, family members and counsel.
KP CM’s plea for meeting
Meanwhile, the IHC referred to the chief justice a petition filed by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi and Finance Adviser Muzammil Aslam seeking permission to meet PTI chief Imran Khan for consultations on the upcoming provincial budget.
Justice Khadim Hussain Soomro passed the order after being informed that several identical petitions relating to jail meetings with the PTI founder were already pending before a larger bench of the IHC. The petitioners had challenged objections raised by the Registrar’s Office regarding the maintainability of their plea and requested an urgent hearing in view of the budget process in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. It may be noted that all three provinces, except for KP, have tabled their budgets.
Published in Dawn, June 19th, 2026