Islamabad High Court has directed Adiala Jail authorities to end the alleged solitary confinement of Imran Khan and Bushra Bibi and ensure access to family, phone calls, books and medical care.
The Islamabad High Court has directed Adiala Jail authorities to ensure that former Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi are not kept in solitary confinement, while ordering measures to facilitate family meetings, telephone calls, reading material and medical care.
The court directed Adiala Jail authorities to ensure that the former prime minister and his wife are not kept in solitary confinement.
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The jail superintendent was ordered to implement the directions and submit a compliance report within 15 days.
Family meetings and calls allowed
The court directed authorities to facilitate meetings between Khan and Bushra Bibi in accordance with prison rules.
It also ordered that Khan's family members be allowed to meet him as permitted under jail regulations.
The court further directed authorities to make arrangements for telephone conversations between Khan and his sons, who live abroad.
According to the ruling reported by News18, the telephone facility could be withdrawn if recordings of the conversations were used for political purposes.
Newspapers, books and medical care
The Islamabad High Court also ordered Adiala Jail authorities to provide Khan with newspapers and books on a daily basis.
Authorities were directed to ensure that he receives medical facilities in accordance with applicable prison rules.
The directions come amid continuing concerns raised by Khan's family and supporters over his health and access to medical treatment.
Why were the petitions filed?
Khan's sister Aleema Khan and Bushra Bibi's daughter Mubashra Khawar Maneka had separately approached the Islamabad High Court, alleging that the former couple were being kept in prolonged isolation.
The petitions challenged the alleged restrictions on their access to family members and other facilities.
The government and jail authorities rejected the claim that Khan and Bushra Bibi were technically being held in solitary confinement.
Officials said Khan was housed separately because of security concerns and had access to a compound containing several cells rather than being confined continuously to a single cell. Similar security reasons were cited for Bushra Bibi's separate accommodation.
The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) disputed the authorities' position and alleged that the restrictions effectively amounted to isolation.
Imran Khan’s imprisonment
Khan has been in prison since August 2023 after being convicted in cases involving corruption and other charges. He and PTI have repeatedly described the cases and convictions as politically motivated.
Bushra Bibi was first jailed in January 2024 following a corruption-related conviction and was released on bail in October that year after nearly nine months in prison.
She was arrested again in January 2025 following another corruption-related conviction and remains detained at Adiala Jail.
Both continue to face multiple legal cases and convictions.
Supreme Court order on Khan’s medical treatment
The Islamabad High Court ruling comes as a separate dispute continues before Pakistan's Supreme Court over Khan's medical treatment.
On August 18, the Supreme Court ordered that Khan be transferred to Shifa International Hospital in Islamabad for treatment amid concerns over his eyesight and other health issues.
However, he was admitted to the state-run Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) on the night of August 20-21 for a medical procedure and diagnostic examinations instead of being transferred to Shifa. He was subsequently returned to Adiala Jail.
Khan's sister Uzma Khan later filed a contempt petition alleging that the government's decision failed to comply with the Supreme Court's order.
Supreme Court declines early hearing
On Monday, the Supreme Court rejected Uzma Khan's request for an early hearing of the contempt petition.
The court had already fixed the matter for September 16. According to Dawn, the Supreme Court cited its case-fixation policy and noted that 94 other criminal original petitions in the same category were pending.
The contempt petition will be heard on September 16 by a three-member bench comprising Justices Shahid Waheed, Naeem Akhtar Afghan and Ishtiaq Ibrahim.
The same bench is also scheduled to hear pending matters concerning Khan's health and family meetings.
Why the jail conditions remain politically significant
The Islamabad High Court's latest directions add a judicial layer to the continuing dispute over Imran Khan's conditions of detention.
The central disagreement is not simply about whether Khan and Bushra Bibi are formally classified as being in solitary confinement. The government and jail authorities have argued that their separate accommodation is based on security considerations, while PTI and their relatives have argued that the restrictions have effectively isolated them.
The court's directions on family meetings, communication, reading material and medical care therefore address several of the practical concerns raised by Khan's relatives and supporters.
The issue of Khan's medical treatment is also being contested separately before the Supreme Court. The different proceedings indicate that his detention conditions, access to healthcare and contact with family remain active legal and political issues in Pakistan.
The 15-day compliance deadline gives the Adiala Jail superintendent a specific period to demonstrate that the Islamabad High Court's directions have been implemented.
Published: 01 Sept 2026, 03:21 pm IST
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