ISLAMABAD, (APP – UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News – 1st Sep, 2026) The Islamabad High Court (IHC) has directed that PTI founder and his wife Bushra Bibi not be kept in solitary confinement, allowing them meetings with their families and telephone conversations with their sons.
The court also directed the Adiala Jail superintendent to submit a compliance report within 15 days.
Justice Khadim Hussain Soomro issued a detailed 24-page judgment on petitions challenging the alleged solitary confinement of PTI founder and Bushra Bibi.
The court directed the jail authorities to facilitate Imran Khan’s telephone conversations with his sons, observing that the facility could be suspended if WhatsApp calls were used for political campaigning.
The court also directed that PTI founder be allowed one hour of daily walk in accordance with the recommendations of the medical board.
The judgment stated that security concerns could not be used as a basis to completely deprive PTI founder of human contact and communication.
The Adiala Jail administration was directed to ensure provision of newspapers, magazines and books for reading to Imran Khan. Books on Allama Iqbal, Seerat-un-Nabi (PBUH) and history should be provided after security screening, the court ordered.
The court further directed that television facility be provided to PTI founder in accordance with the recommendations of the medical board and jail rules.
Regarding Bushra Bibi, the court directed that she should also not be subjected to unlawful solitary confinement and that the same terms and conditions would apply to her.
The court directed the Adiala Jail superintendent to ensure that both prisoners were not kept in solitary confinement.
It observed that, on the basis of the available record, it would not be appropriate to conclude that the prisoners were being kept in solitary confinement merely on the basis of their accommodation.
However, the court said it could not ignore restrictions on human interaction that had continued for a prolonged period.
The judgment distinguished between lawful separation of a prisoner for security reasons and actual solitary confinement, observing that the distinction was not determined by the room allocated to a prisoner but by whether the prisoner was provided reasonable and meaningful human interaction.
“Security considerations may regulate such interaction but cannot completely eliminate it,” the court observed.
The Adiala Jail superintendent was directed to submit the compliance report to the Deputy Registrar (Judicial) within 15 days.
The petitions challenging the alleged solitary confinement of PTI founder and Bushra Bibi had been filed by Aleema Khanum and Mushira Manika respectively.
