ISLAMABAD (Dunya News) – A fresh petition has been filed in the Islamabad High Court against the alleged solitary confinement of the PTI founder.
The petition was filed by Aleema Khan through lawyers Salman Safdar and Salman Akram Raja, requesting the court to declare the solitary confinement of the PTI founder illegal.
The plea argued that keeping the PTI founder in solitary confinement without a court order was unlawful, adding that no court had awarded such punishment. It stated that under Pakistan Prison Rules, such confinement was illegal and beyond authority.
According to the petition, prison rules do not allow any prisoner to be kept in solitary confinement for more than 14 days at a time. The petition further requested the court to declare the confinement a violation of Articles 9 and 14 of the Constitution.
It also referred to the United Nations Nelson Mandela Rules, stating that indefinite solitary confinement was against human dignity.
The petition claimed the PTI founder had lost 85 percent vision in his right eye and had been shifted to Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences four times due to severe pain.
It alleged that prison authorities did not inform family members or lawyers about the nature of his illness or treatment. The petition further stated that despite repeated injections, there had been no improvement in his eyesight and he was not transferred to hospital for proper diagnosis.
According to the plea, the PTI founder told his lawyers that he was being kept in solitary confinement for nearly 22 hours daily, while Bushra Bibi was allegedly being held in isolation for 24 hours a day at Adiala Jail.
The petition also claimed the PTI founder was not being provided television, books or reading material in jail, while lawyers were allegedly being denied meetings for legal consultation and signing of power of attorney documents.
The petition named the superintendent and deputy superintendent of Adiala Jail, the Punjab inspector general prisons, the NAB chairman, FIA director general, PIMS Hospital management and the state as respondents.