The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Friday permitted Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leaders and lawyers to hold election meetings with party founder Imran Khan in Adiala jail in the run-up to polls scheduled for February 8.
The order was passed by Justice Miangul Hasan Aurangzeb on a petition by Imran seeking permission for meetings with party leaders to formulate a strategy for the polls.
The plea by Imran also requested privacy and prayed that the same be conveyed to the superintendent of the prison.
During the hearing today, PTI lawyers, Adiala Jail superintendent and Attorney General of Pakistan Mansoor Awan appeared in court.
PTI’s counsel, Shoaib Shaheen, said as elections were merely some weeks away, the party needed to hold discussions on the allotment of 700 tickets. The AGP however, raised objections regarding the maintainability of the plea.
Justice Aurangzeb expressed displeasure at the argument presented by the AGP and said he was representing the interim government and should be impartial.
Asking if the caretakers wanted to “derail the polls”, Justice Aurangzeb said a “terrible system was being run under the interim government where even consultations on elections is not allowed”.
The court then allowed PTI lawyers, recently-elected party Chairman Gohar Khan and others to hold consultations with Imran in prison and passed an order for a meeting between Gohar and the former prime minister under the supervision of the jail superintendent.
Justice Aurangzeb also observed that permission for consultations on polls is a fundamental right and urged the interim setup to be “neutral” during the general elections.
He added that opposition to meetings between Imran and party leaders “raises question on the neutrality of the interim set-up” as he disposed of the petition.
