Jailed former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan has a walking area adjacent to his cell, a cooler, a TV, a separate kitchen, workout equipment, and other amenities, the government told the country's Supreme Court.
Mr Khan, 71, has been incarcerated in the high-security Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi since last September. He was shifted to this prison from the District Jail Attock where he was lodged after his arrest on August 5, 2023, following his conviction in the Toshakhana corruption case.
Appearing before the Supreme Court in a case on May 30, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party founder complained to the chief justice that he was living in solitary confinement and the government had put restrictions on his meeting with lawyers and family members.
Image posted on X by @PTIofficial
The government in its response to the Supreme Court rejected his assertions by providing a list of facilities he enjoyed and included photographs of his cell and other items as well as of his meeting with his legal team in prison.
The government said that Mr Khan enjoyed a walking area adjacent to the cell, a room cooler, a TV, a separate kitchen reading books, a study table with a chair, and equipment for exercise.
The government also gave a list of individuals who have met with Mr Khan, countering claims that he is being held in solitary confinement. It suggested that, if necessary, a commission could be appointed to verify the allegations.
Earlier, the government formalised in March the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for facilitating meetings with the convicted former premier. According to the SOPs, PTI leaders Barrister Gohar Ali Khan, Sher Afzal Marwat, and Barrister Umair Ahmad Khan Niazi were designated as focal persons for coordinating visits to the jail.
Mr Khan was to be allowed to meet his family and lawyers in two separate sessions on Tuesday, while a single session on Thursday will be reserved for his "lawyers/friends".
Those intending to meet Mr Khan must coordinate with the jail authorities through the designated focal persons, who will provide the visitor list - consisting of two individuals per focal person - one day before the scheduled meeting, adhering to the six-person limit.
Separately, PTI in a WhatsApp message shared the photo of Mr Khan's cell which the government had released, claiming that “it was a cell photo where former Prime Minister Imran Khan is kept in solitary confinement”.
The party said that it was a contradiction to the claim that a former Prime Minister was entitled to an ‘A' class cell with an air-conditioned room and a helper to attend to the errands.
“Mr Khan never did complain about being kept in a facility with no access to natural light or a window however it goes to show how government machinery fibbed about all this time, having him kept in a cell costing above a million each month,” the PTI said.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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