Former Prime Minister Imran Khan & Army Chief Asim Munir
Pakistan Tehreek Insaaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan’s sister, Dr Uzma Khan, has filed a second contempt of court petition before the Supreme Court over alleged non-compliance of its August 18 order. On that day, a three-judge Bench of the apex court had ordered that the former prime minister be allowed to communicate telephonically with his sons and meet his sisters every week.
The petition filed on Wednesday named Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and four other officials as respondents, alleging that the court’s directives had once again not been implemented. According to the petition, Imran had been denied a meeting with his sisters on September 1 and had been unable to communicate with his sons since March. The apex court had ordered that the authorities should facilitate telephonic talks between Imran and his sons who live in the UK, according to a report of The Express Tribune.
The petition was filed by Dr Uzma through SC Advocate Uzair Karamat Bhandari under Articles 187 and 204 of the Constitution. It sought contempt proceedings against the respondents and implementation of the apex court’s August 18 order.
The petition argued that responsibility for ensuring compliance with a court order rested with the chief executive, namely the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO). It asked the court to apply the principle laid down in the Yousuf Raza Gilani contempt of court case to the present matter and ensure implementation of its August 18 order.
The respondents included Rawalpindi Central Jail (Adiala) Superintendent Sajid Baig, Punjab Inspector General of Prisons Mian Salik Jalal, Ministry of Interior Secretary Ahmed Sarwar Raza and Islamabad Capital Territory Chief Commissioner Sohail Ashraf. The petition alleged that Imran’s sisters, Dr Uzma Khan, Noreen Niazi and Aleema Khan, and his cousin Qasim Zaman, had been barred from meeting him despite the court directions.
It further alleged that no arrangements had been made to facilitate telephone conversations between Imran and his sons, Kasim Khan and Sulaiman Khan, twice a week as directed by the court. The petition urged the court to “direct and/or take all appropriate steps” to implement its August 18 order, particularly the directions concerning weekly meetings between Imran and his sisters and cousin, as well as twice-weekly phone calls with his sons.
Two separate miscellaneous applications were also filed seeking permission to place additional documents on record in support of the contempt petition. The latest petition followed an earlier contempt case over the government’s failure to comply with the court order regarding Imran’s medical treatment at private Shifa International Hospital in Islamabad.
The court has ordered that Imran be taken to Shifa International Hospital for examination and treatment by a medical board. It had also directed the government to facilitate weekly meetings between Imran and his family.
Instead, Imran had been taken to the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) on August 21 for a medical examination and had later been returned to Adiala Jail after doctors declared him “medically fit”.
Information Minister Attaullah Tarar had claimed earlier that Imran was taken to the government-run facility because of the security situation created by PTI workers outside and on the way to Shifa International Hospital. On August 22, PTI filed a contempt of court petition in the SC over the alleged violation of the court’s order concerning Imran’s transfer to Shifa International Hospital.
The petition was filed by Dr Uzma, lawyer Uzair Bhandari and PTI Secretary General Salman Akram Raja. Three days later, PTI resubmitted the petition after addressing objections raised by the SC registrar while the SC fixed the hearing for the petition on September 16.
