PTI to again file contempt plea against Adiala jail authorities over denial of meetings with Imran

ISLAMABAD: PTI Secretary General Salman Akram Raja was at the Islamabad High Court on Tuesday to file yet another contempt of court petition against Adiala jail authorities for repeatedly denying party leaders permission to meet PTI founder Imran Khan, who has been incarcerated at the Rawalpindi prison since September 2023.

Announcing his party’s plans again moving the court against jail authorities, Raja said while speaking to reporters on the court premises that this would be the “sixth contempt petition” filed on the matter.

The IHC has allowed Imran twice-a-week meetings — on Tuesday and Thursdays — with his family, lawyers and other associates. Despite the order, the ex-premier has not been allowed any visitors for weeks, including his sisters and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi.

The PTI and Imran’s sisters both have previously filed contempt petitions against Adiala jail authorities over non-compliance with the IHC order.

Today, Raja said while speaking to reporters at the IHC that he was at the court to file “another contempt of court petition” over what he deemed was “continued and deliberate non-compliance with court orders”.

“This is not the first time; this is the sixth contempt petition,” Raja said, adding that despite clear judicial directions, prison officials had consistently obstructed access to the PTI founder.

“No constitution prevents a prisoner from talking, and the jail rule being cited to restrict meetings is itself unconstitutional,” he asserted.

Raja maintained that while incarceration lawfully curtailed a person’s physical freedom, it did not “extinguish fundamental rights altogether”.

The PTI leader said while a prisoner’s freedom was taken away, they could not be deprived of their capability to think and speak.

“When someone goes to meet a prisoner, he can say whatever comes to his mind. There is no law that allows the state to censor thought or speech in this manner,” the PTI leader added.

Raja alleged that restrictions on meetings with Imran were “not administrative but political in nature”, aimed at “silencing the former premier and controlling the political narrative”.

“An attempt is being made to hide the hollowness of the system,” he said, further alleging that authorities were trying to bury what he described as the “lie of February 8” — seemingly a reference to the 2024 general elections, which the PTI has repeatedly alleged were rigged.

He alleged that efforts were being made to hide that “people’s vote was robbed”, further accusing the state of “sending a message of submission” to the public. “They are telling the people that your destiny is only subjugation, that your vote and your voice have no value.”

Raja further alleged that the continued denial of meetings with Imran was intended to create an atmosphere of fear and helplessness.

“They are giving the people the impression that the freedom of your leaders is at our mercy,” he said, adding that such actions struck at the heart of democratic norms and constitutional guarantees.

Raja described Imran Khan as the country’s most popular political leader and claimed that those in power were unnerved by his influence even from behind bars.

“The founder of PTI is the biggest leader in the country, and today they are scared and terrified,” he said. “Their aim is to silence the voice of the founder of PTI.”