Pakistan’s ex-PM Imran barred from holding meetings inside Adiala Jail for 2 weeks

Pakistani authorities on Tuesday barred visitors for imprisoned former prime minister Imran Khan after receiving intelligence reports about a possible attack on the prison where he is being held, government officials and his party said.

Under a government order, no visitors will be allowed to meet Imran or other inmates at the Adiala Jail in the garrison city of Rawalpindi for two weeks for security reasons. The order came just days after authorities beefed up security at the prison.

It was unclear whether the intelligence obtained by authorities was about Imran or about other inmates in separate barracks, including militants who are on trial.

Imran is currently serving multiple prison terms at the Adiala prison. He has been convicted on charges of corruption, revealing official secrets and violating the marriage laws in three separate verdicts and sentenced to 10, 14 and seven years respectively.

Under Pakistani law, he serves the terms concurrently, meaning that he essentially is serving the longest of the sentences. Imran is appealing all the convictions.

Gohar Khan, the chairman of Imran’s Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf party (PTI) denounced the ban on Imran’s visitors.

Imran’s party failed to get a majority in the Feb.8 parliamentary elections in which his rivals emerged as the largest presence in the National Assembly, or lower house of the parliament.

The authorities have been directed to install barbed wires outside the jail area and a hold a fresh security audit of the officials of the special branch of the police, Intelligence Bureau (IB) and the jail staff within a day.

In a letter written to the Punjab prisons chief, the Punjab Home Department said its Internal Security Wing conveyed that “there exist different types of threats to [the] security of Adiala Jail as some anti-state terrorist groups supported by the enemies of Pakistan have planned to conduct targeted attacks.”

“As a security measure against the aforementioned attacks,” the department requested the prison chief to “stop the public visits/meetings/interviews within the Adiala Jail immediately for two weeks.”

Gohar has demanded the authorities to make necessary arrangements for his meeting with Imran Khan in Adiala Jail by Wednesday.

Addressing a press conference along with PTI leaders Omar Ayoub and Rauf Hasan in Islamabad on Tuesday, Gohar said they had filed ten separate petitions in connection with his meeting with the PTI founder.

However, it is reported that the meeting with Imran Khan has been banned for two weeks for fear of terrorism, Gohar said adding neither the family nor the lawyers could meet him.

Gohar said there were some documents related to general election which they had taken with them to meet PTI founder.

“Senate polls are going to take place therefore application has been filed that permission be given for consultation with PTI founder along with documents. We have too much expectations from the judiciary,” he added.

“We didn’t get a chance as per the law. We always come and hope we will be given justice as well. Decisions have been taken on fast pace basis,” he urged.

Earlier, in the petitions, Interior Secretary Chief Commissioner Islamabad and superintendent Adiala jail have been made respondents in the petition.

On the occasion, Ayub claimed that unfortunately the votes were bought in provincial assemblies in the Senate election. 

Ayub said that Mohsin Naqvi was an unconstitutional and illegal adviser on interior matters raising questions about the prime minister and the supremacy of law.

He said that he came to meet the PTI founder for the third time, but could not succeed.

Last week, in a joint operation, Punjab Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) and police foiled an attempt to attack Adiala Jail and arrested three terrorists with explosives and the jail map.

Agencies