ISLAMABAD The sister of PTI founder Imran Khan said Tuesday that the government offered the former prime minister a deal on his relocation from Adiala jail in Rawalpindi to his home in Banigala, amid the lack of progress in negotiations between the government and the opposition.
Aleema Khan informed reporters outside the prison that her brother had received multiple offers from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur following a meeting with Imran Khan while incarcerated. She said her brother kept receiving these offers, suggesting he should keep quiet, but she questioned how he could consent to house arrest after being incarcerated for so long.
Both the PTI and the government denied last week that there was any possibility of relocating the former prime minister from Adiala jail to Banigala or another place.
“Unsupervised access”
Despite a meeting between Imran Khan and the PTI negotiators, the PTI’s talks with the government on two issues—the release of prisoners and the establishment of a judicial commission to look into the anti-party crackdown—did not appear to be going well.
Following the start of negotiations in the final week of December, the PTI insisted on having unrestricted access to the party founder so that he could contribute to the discussion. Imran Khan was ultimately made available to the PTI leaders on Tuesday after much hesitancy. The PTI leaders wanted a “unmonitored” meeting with the party founder at a press conference after the meeting.
Even though the government’s committee approved it during the negotiations, PTI leader Omar Ayub claimed that the government was refusing to grant the negotiating team’s explicit demand for an unmonitored meeting with Imran Khan. He claimed that because of the purported spy devices in the meeting room, the PTI team was unable to speak with the former premier.
Gohar Ali Khan, the party’s acting head, recommended during the press conference that tensions between the opposition and the government be reduced. He went on to say that the government shouldn’t take offense at the party’s inability to put its demands in paper.
The release of all political detainees and the creation of a judicial commission to investigate the incidents on May 9 and November 26 are the two requests that the PTI has previously made, according to Barrister Salman Akram Raja. He asserted that it was a truth that the PTI’s success in the 2024 elections was turned into a failure. He claimed that it was odd that PTI representatives were denied the opportunity to meet with Mr. Khan in an unrestricted setting, raising doubts about the government’s motives.
Separately, Barrister Aqeel Malik, the PM’s adviser on law and justice, told reporters in Taxila that the PTI’s inconsistent stance could ruin the negotiations process because the opposition party’s leadership’s delaying tactics could complicate the discussions meant to reduce political tensions.
Imran goes to court
Separately, former premier Imran Khan petitioned the special judge central court of Islamabad, claiming that he was not being granted the fundamental rights that the jail manual and other relevant legislation required.
Mr. Khan said in his plea, which was submitted through his attorneys Ali Ijaz Buttar and Advocate Faisal Hussain, that the jail administration had treated him cruelly at the request of the ruling administration.
The petitioner accused the government of using unlawful means to weaken his determination and deny him access to necessary facilities, alleging politically motivated persecution.
The legal team outlined a number of complaints, such as the inability to make weekly phone calls to his children who live in the UK, the prohibition on his personal doctor visiting, and the denial of access to television, newspapers, and reading materials.
Additionally, the petition claimed that the former premier was being isolated and that he was being exposed to actions meant to isolate him from the outside world.
Additionally, the petition argued that the jail administration’s measures were intended to exert pressure on Imran Khan to renounce his democratic commitments and political position. The former prime minister further asserted that he was not allowed to receive visits from his family, attorneys, and political associates and that he was not being granted court-ordered authorization to contact his children.
The legal team asked the court to order jail officials to authorize weekly phone conversations with his kids, bring back television in his cell, allow his personal physician to conduct medical examinations, and make sure that prison regulations and jail handbook provisions be followed.
The pre-arrest bail applications of Mr. Khan and Bushra Bibi were postponed till January 28 by the Additional Sessions Court of Islamabad, which is chaired by Judge Muhammad Afzal Majoka.
Charges related to protests in the nation’s capital are at issue in these cases. The court granted Bushra Bibi’s request for an exemption from personal presence during the hearing, which was made via her legal team.
The judge acknowledged that partial arguments had been made and declared that all bail applications will be decided together. The PTI founder’s video appearance was still waiting, though. The court affirmed that all unresolved matters will be covered during the upcoming hearing, which is set for January 28.
