Adiala Jail Superintendent Submits Reply in Islamabad High Court Over Restricted Legal Access to PTI Founde
ISLAMABAD: The Superintendent Adiala Jail has formally responded to Islamabad High Court (IHC) in the contempt of court proceedings filed against the non-compliance of the previous court orders regarding the meetings of lawyers with the detained Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder.
In the hearing of a petition asking for limitation on the official X (Twitter) account of the party’s founder, the court switched to discussing the merits of the case as well as the pending contempt application over access to restricted counsel.
The role of a Jail Authority and Court Interventions.
In his written explanation, the Adiala Jail Superintendent said that these meetings with the PTI founder were often used to discuss politics, which is why some visits were restricted because of security reasons.
Justice Arbab Muhammad Tahir asked legal counsel Salman Akram Raja whether he would be interested in “political discussion” or “consultation on legal matters only. The bench inquired if there would be any prejudice to it if the visits were formally sanctioned, based on an explicit undertaking or assurance that no political remarks would be exchanged? The state counsel asked for time to discuss with the Advocate General before giving a clear answer.
Address concerns and procedural delays
Before the bench Salman Akram Raja said that he would not be able to make arguments in the case on the merits and sign any legal documents including the wakalatnama without meeting with his client. Raja noted that the jail has blocked access to the protest even after the judge ordered it, thus violating the due process of law.
The court asked the State authorities why it was that the signatures were not obtained on the power of attorney, noting that secure legal communication is a fundamental right.
Party Stance and Adjournment
When dealing with the other petition regarding the social media account, the court asked the party “what is their official position”. Senior party leader Barrister Gohar would be attending the next hearing, auxiliary counsel said. But Justice Arbab Tahir observed that “formal appearance” of political leaders was not required, provided the party’s “substance” was made clear.
PTI as an organization has nothing to say about this particular digital injunction, reiterated Salman Akram Raja, who emphasized that the arrested founder was the one who was the primary respondent in this case, but was wrongly deprived of instructions from his legal team. The hearing was then adjourned for further proceedings.