Relief For Imran Khan: High Court Orders Family Access, Phone Calls, Andd End To Isolation
On Tuesday, a Pakistani high court ordered prison officials to prevent solitary incarceration of former prime minister Imran Khan and his spouse Bushra Bibi.
Currently serving lengthy prison terms for corruption and related offenses, the 73-year-old former cricket player turned politician and his spouse are being held at Rawalpindi’s Adiala Jail.
Islamabad High Court (IHC) Justice Khadim Hussain Soomro announced the ruling while holding the petitions challenging the alleged solitary confinement of Khan and Bibi as maintainable.
The court also mandated that officials arrange for Khan to speak with his children over the phone and that his family members be permitted to see him as authorized by jail regulations.
The Adiala jail authorities were instructed by the IHC to make sure Khan received medical care in compliance with regulations and to give him books and newspapers every day. The superintendent of the Adiala jail was instructed to make sure the court’s orders were followed and to provide a compliance report within 15 days.
On August 6, Khan’s sister Aleema Khanum and Bibi’s daughter Mubashra Khawar Maneka filed separate petitions contesting their purported solitary confinement, and Justice Soomro had previously deferred the decision.
Following charges that he and his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party have characterized as politically motivated, Khan has been incarcerated since August 2023.
Authorities have allegedly denied him access to family members and proper medical care, according to his supporters and relatives. Such accusations have been denied by the government.
After being found guilty in a corruption-related case, Bibi was initially imprisoned on January 31, 2024, and was freed on bail on October 24 of that same year, having spent almost nine months behind bars.
After being found guilty in another corruption-related case, she was arrested again on January 17, 2025, and she is still being held at Adiala Jail. Since then, she has been given additional terms in corruption-related crimes.
Separately, according to Dawn News, the Supreme Court denied Imran Khan’s sister Uzma Khan’s request for an early hearing of a contempt petition against government officials for allegedly failing to follow its August 18 order ordering the former prime minister’s transfer to a private hospital on Monday.
Uzma submitted the request after her initial contempt plea was scheduled to be heard by the Supreme Court on September 16.
After months of worries expressed by Khan’s family and supporters regarding his health, especially an eye problem he was diagnosed with earlier this year, the Supreme Court on August 18 ordered the government to transfer Khan to the private Shifa International Hospital.
Instead of Shifa Hospital, Khan was admitted to the state-run Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) on the evening of August 20–21 for a medical procedure and diagnostic tests. After that, he was returned to Adiala Jail.
According to Uzma’s appeal, the ruling went against the Supreme Court’s directive that Khan stay in the Islamabad hospital until the September 16 hearing.
Citing security concerns, the administration defended its decision to send him to PIMS.
A three-person bench consisting of Justices Shahid Waheed, Naeem Akhtar Afghan, and Ishtiaq Ibrahim will hear the contempt petition on September 16. Additionally, pending issues pertaining to Khan’s health and family gatherings are due to be heard by the same panel.
According to Dawn News, the Supreme Court denied the plea for an early hearing on Monday under its case-fixation rules, pointing out that 94 other criminal original petitions in the same category were still pending before the court.
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