The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Tuesday granted a final opportunity to lawyers representing PTI founder Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi to present arguments in their appeals against convictions in the £190 million case, warning that no further adjournments will be allowed.
Court’s Final Warning
In a written order issued by a division bench comprising Chief Justice Sardar Muhammad Sarfraz Dogar and Justice Muhammad Asif, the court said it would decide the appeals on the available record after hearing the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) if the appellants’ counsel failed to advance arguments at the next hearing.
The bench accepted a request for adjournment based on an undertaking by senior lawyer Latif Khosa, whose power of attorney on behalf of Imran Khan and Bushra Bibi is already on record. According to the order, Khosa gave a clear undertaking that he would not seek any further adjournment and would present arguments on the appeals at the next hearing.
The court said the case was being adjourned solely on the basis of that undertaking, emphasizing that this was the final opportunity being granted to the appellants. “The court makes it clear that if arguments are not advanced at the next hearing, no further adjournment will be granted, and the appeals will be decided after hearing NAB on the basis of the available record,” the order stated.
Solitary Confinement Allegations
Separately, the IHC issued a detailed written order in petitions alleging that PTI founder Imran Khan and Bushra Bibi were being held in solitary confinement at Adiala Jail, observing that such serious allegations could not be dismissed without first obtaining a response from prison authorities.
In a 10-page order, Justice Khadim Hussain Soomro said the allegations of solitary confinement and unlawful treatment in jail were serious and could neither be ignored nor rejected without issuing notices to the respondents and seeking a factual report from prison authorities.
The court noted that the trial court had sentenced both convicts to rigorous and simple imprisonment in the event of non-payment of fines, but had not awarded solitary confinement as part of the sentence. The order referred to NAB’s position that allegations of solitary confinement were false.
Court Directs Prison Report
The court directed the superintendent of Adiala Jail to submit a comprehensive report stating whether Imran Khan and Bushra Bibi were being held in solitary confinement and, if so, under whose authority and under which legal provisions. The report must also specify the duration of any such confinement.
Justice Soomro further ordered prison authorities to provide details of the prisoners’ current conditions, the facilities being extended to them under jail rules, and to produce the complete jail record and all relevant documents through an authorized officer at the next hearing. The court issued notices to the superintendent of Adiala Jail, the inspector general of prisons and NAB, observing that the question of whether the petitions were maintainable would be decided only after the prison superintendent’s report was received.
