IHC orders lawyer's jail meeting with Imran

The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Tuesday ordered that Barrister Salman Safdar be allowed to meet former prime minister Imran Khan in Adiala Jail at 2pm today (Wednesday) in connection with the £190 million case. A division bench, comprising IHC Chief Justice Sardar Muhammad Sarfraz Dogar and Justice Muhammad Asif, heard appeals filed by Imran Khan and Bushra Bibi against their convictions in the corruption case, along with applications for suspension of sentence and other miscellaneous petitions. These included applications for facilitating a jail meeting with Imran for legal consultation and for early hearing of Bushra Bibi's suspension plea. Barrister Salman Safdar appeared for the PTI founder, while NAB Special Prosecutor Javed Ashraf and Rafi Maqsood represented the prosecution. At the outset, the chief justice approved the request for a meeting with the PTI founder, allowing counsel to consult his client. Safdar requested the meeting be scheduled at 2pm, which the court accepted. He further urged the court to first take up Bushra Bibi's suspension plea. The chief justice responded that the appeals could also be fixed for hearing and taken up twice a week. Justice Dogar indicated that once arguments begin, the court could decide the matter within seven days. Safdar, however, requested that the appeals not be fixed immediately, saying he would first meet his client and then assist the court after consultation. He reiterated that Bushra Bibi's suspension application may be decided first. The court directed jail authorities to ensure the meeting at 2pm and adjourned the hearing until Thursday, April 9. During proceedings, the special prosecutor requested that the case be fixed for Monday. The chief justice remarked that the court schedules cases based on its availability and cannot commit to specific dates in advance. The capital's high court on March 31 granted time to the counsel of Imran Khan and his wife to consult his clients if they wished the court to first hear their main appeals in the £190 million case. Later, on April 4, Salman Safdar moved an application in the IHC, seeking its order for Adiala Jail authorities to allow him meet his jailed clients to discuss legal matters related to the £190 million case In the application, Safdar contended that since December 20, 2025, the PTI founder had not been able to hold any meaningful or effective meeting with his counsels. It maintained that for approximately three months and twelve days, he had been deprived of proper legal access, which had adversely affected his ability to prepare for proceedings in a case of significant legal importance. The petition named the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) chairman, the inspector general of Prisons Punjab, and the superintendent of Adiala Jail as respondents.