ISLAMABAD: Former Prime Minister and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder chairman Imran Khan has approached the Islamabad High Court (IHC), filing a miscellaneous petition to protest what his legal team describes as a “deliberate obstruction” of justice. The petition seeks immediate court intervention to allow Khan substantive meetings with his lawyers to prepare for his appeal in the £190 million National Accountability Bureau (NAB) reference.
The move comes as Khan remains incarcerated at Adiala Jail, following his 14-year sentence handed down on January 17, 2025. His wife, Bushra Bibi, who received a 7-year sentence in the same case, is also a party to the latest legal push.
The petition, filed through Barrister Salman Safdar, paints a stark picture of restricted access. It asserts that despite repeated efforts by counsel to establish communication with the clients in Adiala Jail, authorities have consistently declined to facilitate the meetings.
The petitioners argue that this lack of access is not a mere administrative oversight but a calculated tactic. The petition states:
“The founder of PTI has been deprived of legal access for approximately three months and twelve days. NAB’s behavior is deliberately delaying and obstructing the proceedings of the case.”
By naming the Chairman NAB, IG Prisons Punjab, and the Superintendent of Adiala Jail as respondents, the legal team is holding both the bureau and the provincial prison administration accountable for the alleged blockade.
In the formal prayer to the court, the petitioner argues that these meetings are a prerequisite for the effective preparation of the pending appeal and are essential to safeguard the appellants’ fundamental rights.
It may be added here that this is not the first time the conduct of the prosecution has come under scrutiny. In March 2026, the IHC took the rare step of imposing a Rs.100,000 fine on NAB for employing “dilatory tactics” that stalled the progress of the appeals.
The current petition urges the IHC to order the urgent fixation of their main appeals against conviction in both the £190 million (Al-Qadir Trust) case and the Toshakhana-I case. More pressingly, it requests the court to facilitate “unhindered meetings” to ensure the defense can actually prepare its arguments for the upcoming hearings.
