Court directs Salman Safdar, Latif Khosa to begin arguments on £190m appeals at next hearing in 10 days
Former Pakistani prime minister Imran Khan speaks with Reuters during an interview, in Lahore, Pakistan March 17, 2023. — REUTERS
ISLAMABAD:
The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Tuesday ordered a one-hour jail meeting between Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf founder Imran Khan and his wife, Bushra Bibi, and their lawyers, Barrister Salman Safdar and Latif Khosa, in the £190 million case, directing counsel to begin arguments on the appeals at the next hearing.
A division bench comprising Chief Justice Sarfraz Dogar and Justice Muhammad Asif heard the appeals. The bench also directed that arguments begin at the next hearing and that the paper books in the cases be prepared beforehand. The appeals were adjourned for 10 days.
At the outset, Khosa told the court that an earlier order allowing him to meet Imran had not been implemented. Chief Justice Sardar Sarfraz Dogar, who headed the bench, clarified that the previous order had been for Barrister Salman Safdar to meet the PTI founder, not Khosa.
“You are not the one whose meeting was ordered; the order was for Salman Safdar’s meeting,” the chief justice told Khosa.
Khosa responded that an order for a meeting already existed but that no meeting had taken place. He said his undertaking to argue the appeals was conditional on being allowed to meet Imran.
The chief justice, however, said it had already been settled that Khosa would argue the appeals and urged him to begin. He asked Islamabad Advocate General Naveed Malik whether arrangements could be made for the meeting within one or two days.
Read: Long wait ends as lawyer meets jailed Imran, Bushra
“I want to remove this obstacle and proceed with the matter,” Chief Justice Dogar said, adding that he wanted Khosa to begin his arguments even if he had only two sentences to make. He also said the lawyer could argue for two or four hours.
Khosa subsequently requested a one-hour meeting with Imran, prompting the chief justice to direct the advocate general to arrange it within two days.
During the hearing, Safdar also raised concerns over delays in his access to Imran and Bushra Bibi, telling the court that he had met the PTI founder after seven months and his wife after 11 months. “I felt embarrassed when I met my client after 11 months,” he said, adding that he had received instructions from both to argue their appeals.
He requested the court to provide the paper books and grant him time to prepare his arguments. He said Bushra Bibi’s meeting with her lawyer after 11 months reflected a serious lack of trust.
Safdar also asked the court to fix appeals against sentences in the other cases for hearing and take up a miscellaneous application. He said his first protest in the matter concerned the failure to arrange a meeting with Bushra Bibi for 11 months. He added that he had filed an affidavit in the case, something he had never done before.
The lawyer said he could file a fresh bail application on new grounds but had not done so yet. He then drew the court’s attention to Bushra Bibi’s health, saying she had been wearing dark glasses and that her eyesight had deteriorated.
Read: PIMS doctors visit Imran, Bushra
According to Safdar, jail authorities had informed him that her next operation was scheduled for November 15. He said he did not know who was treating her or where she was receiving treatment.
“I am not asking for bail; a medical board should be formed,” he told the court, seeking an independent assessment of her condition. He added that even if Bushra Bibi was not entitled to bail, she could be granted temporary bail for four to six weeks to receive treatment.
Safdar said women were entitled to concessions in such matters and asked the court to obtain complete medical reports from Adiala jail. He maintained that proper treatment was not possible in prison and questioned why Bushra Bibi had been returned to her cell on the same day after an operation.
He told the court that doctors had performed emergency surgery and warned that he would regret arguing the appeal if her condition worsened. “If I argue the appeal and my client becomes blind in jail, I will regret it,” Safdar said.
He also conveyed Imran’s concerns about his own health, saying the PTI founder had told him that his blood pressure was not under control and had risen above 190, putting him at risk of a brain haemorrhage. Safdar added that Imran had said his eyesight had improved.
Also Read: Gohar demands immediate implementation of SC order on Imran’s medical treatment
Safdar requested a meeting with Imran lasting between one and one-and-a-half hours, while Salman Akram Raja, another counsel for the PTI founder, asked the court to allow both lawyers to meet him together.
The chief justice observed that Safdar had already met Imran. The court also remarked that allowing the lawyers to meet him together could lead to a request for five people to be permitted to meet him.
The advocate general told the court that medical treatment was a fundamental right and that the government was not neglecting its responsibilities.
“All medical facilities are being provided,” he said, presenting a record of the treatment provided to Bushra Bibi.
He said the matter concerned not just one prisoner but around 10,000 inmates. He also referred to records summoned by the Federal Constitutional Court (FCC) from the Supreme Court in cases involving three prisoners.
The chief justice observed that applications concerning Imran’s health were pending before the FCC. Safdar, however, told the bench that no case concerning Bushra Bibi was pending before that court.
During the proceedings, a National Accountability Bureau prosecutor asked Safdar to submit an undertaking regarding the proceedings.
Read More: IHC fixes Imran and Bushra’s appeals against sentences in £190m case for Nov 10
At the conclusion of the hearing, the court directed that the paper books be provided to the lawyers and prepared before the next hearing. It also instructed counsel to begin their arguments at the next hearing, following the arrangement of Khosa’s meeting with Imran.
Access to Imran and Bushra Bibi at Adiala Jail has remained restricted, with meetings between the PTI founder and his lawyers becoming increasingly infrequent. Authorities have denied weekly meetings between Imran and his family and legal team since December 2025.
In April 2026, Barrister Salman Safdar met Imran for a 60-minute legal consultation on the IHC’s orders, but Bushra Bibi was not brought in to join the meeting. Safdar said Imran and Bushra were being kept in solitary confinement for almost 24 hours a day, with no access to books, television, family or lawyers.
The courts subsequently intervened to facilitate access. In June, the IHC directed authorities to arrange a meeting between Imran, Bushra Bibi and their legal counsel within seven days to complete legal formalities and pursue their appeals.
The Supreme Court also ordered weekly meetings between Imran and his family in August. Imran’s sister Noreen Niazi met him at Adiala Jail on August 18 after a gap of around nine months, with the meeting lasting approximately 15 minutes. However, Safdar was not allowed to meet both his clients again until November 2, when jail authorities facilitated a 40-minute meeting with Imran and Bushra Bibi.
