Imran Khan, wife Bushra Bibi get slight relief as Pak HC bars solitary confinement

A Pakistan high court on Tuesday directed authorities at Rawalpindi Jail to ensure that former prime minister Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi are not held in solitary confinement. The ruling also set out provisions for Khan's family meetings, phone calls, reading material and medical care. The Islamabad High Court (IHC), while hearing petitions challenging the couple's alleged solitary confinement, directed the jail authorities to allow Khan's family members to meet him in line with prison rules and arrange telephone conversations with his sons. Justice Khadim Hussain Soomro also ordered the jail to provide Khan with newspapers and books every day and ensure access to medical facilities as prescribed under jail rules. Rawalpindi's Aiala jail superintendent has been asked to implement the directions and submit a compliance report within 15 days, according to the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI). The court had earlier reserved its verdict on August 6 on separate petitions filed by Khan's sister Aleema Khanum and Bushra Bibi's daughter Mubashra Khawar Maneka. The IHC also held the petitions challenging the alleged solitary confinement to be maintainable. The 73-year-old cricketer-turned-politician and his wife have been in custody since August 2023 and is serving prison terms in corruption and related cases. Khan's Tehreek-e-Insaf party and supporters have maintained that the cases are politically motivated, while the government has rejected allegations of mistreatment. Bushra Bibi was first jailed in January 2024 after being convicted in a corruption-related case. She was released on bail in October that year after nearly nine months in custody but was arrested again in January 2025 following another corruption conviction. She remains at Adiala Jail. The IHC order comes as Khan's detention and medical treatment remain the subject of separate proceedings before the Supreme Court. On Monday, the Supreme Court declined an application by Khan's sister Uzma Khan seeking an early hearing of her contempt petition against government officials over the alleged failure to comply with an earlier order concerning his transfer to a private hospital, Dawn reported. Pakistan's Supreme Court had on August 18 ordered that Khan be shifted to the privately run Shifa International Hospital after concerns were raised by his family and supporters over his health, including an eye condition diagnosed earlier this year. Instead, Khan was taken to the state-run Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) on the night of August 20-21 for a medical procedure and diagnostic examinations and was later returned to Adiala Jail. Uzma Khan's petition contends that this breached the Supreme Court's direction that Khan remain admitted at the Islamabad hospital until the next hearing on September 16. The government has defended the decision, citing security concerns. Two specialists from Shifa International Hospital also participated in Khan's eye examination at PIMS, according to the hospital administration, as reported by Dawn. Uzma Khan had sought an earlier hearing, arguing that further delay could affect the enforcement of the Supreme Court's order. The Supreme Court, however, rejected the request under its case-fixation policy, noting that 94 other criminal original petitions in the same category were pending, Dawn reported. The contempt petition is listed for September 16 before a three-member bench comprising Justices Shahid Waheed, Naeem Akhtar Afghan and Ishtiaq Ibrahim. The bench is also scheduled to hear other matters concerning Khan's health and family meetings.