Visit to Adaila Jail: IHC appoints commission to ascertain difficulties facing IK lawyers

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC), on Friday, appointed a three-member commission to ascertain the difficulties being faced by the lawyers of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan during their visit to Adiala Jail.

A single bench of IHC comprising Justice Sardar Ejaz Ishaq Khan issued the directions in a petition filed by Imran Khan’s counsels, Faisal Fareed Chaudhary and Naeem Haider Panjotha against the jail authorities for not allowing them to represent Khan in the ongoing trial being held in jail in NAB reference titled, State vs Imran Ahmad Khan Niazi.

During the hearing, the superintendent Adiala Jail answered the notice and stated that all measures are being taken and will be taken for unimpeded access of the under trial prisoner to his legal counsel and for the latter to participate in the ongoing trial without any direct or indirect obstructions.

However, Justice Ishaq stated that the Court finds that the counsel for the petitioner and the jail authorities are at odds as to what actually occurs on the dates of hearing. He added that the counsels stated (and this has been asserted by counsels in other similar petitions also) that they are made to leave their cars at the outermost gate of the prison for them to walk approximately a kilometre with heavy bundles of papers in hot and humid weather, leaving them rather exhausted by the time they reach the courtroom in the prison. This is denied by the prison authorities and by the counsels for the respondents.

He further said that as the Court has heard these complaints on numerous occasions, and as such complaints are endorsed in this petition by affidavits filed by senior advocates, Sardar Lateef Khan Khosa and Uzair Karamat Bhandari, and as passing directions alone does not seem to have resolved the issue, it has become incumbent for this Court to appoint its eyes and ears for a neutral account.

He also said that accordingly, it has become necessary for this Court to appoint a local commission comprising a panel of three advocates including Barrister Zopash Khan, Mubeen Ali Husnain Awan and Zohaib Hassan Gondal.

The IHC bench said that only one commissioner out of the panel of three needs to observe the counsel’s visits and representation in the jail courtroom on any given day.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2024