Pakistan: Imran Khan's sister files second contempt petition in SC

Uzma Khan, sister of former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan, filed a second contempt petition in the Supreme Court over authorities failing to enforce an August 18 order granting him family visits and phone access with his sons, according to local media reports.

Uzma Khan, sister of former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan, filed a fresh contempt of court petition in the Supreme Court on Wednesday concerning the non-enforcement of a previous judicial directive issued on August 18, according to local media reports. The petition, filed in the country's apex court as reported by the leading Pakistani daily The Express Tribune, names several high-ranking officials as respondents. These include Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Adiala (Rawalpindi Central Jail) Superintendent Sajid Baig, Punjab Inspector General of Prisons Mian Salik Jalal, Ministry of Interior Secretary Ahmed Sarwar Raza, and Islamabad Capital Territory Chief Commissioner Sohail Ashraf.

According to the filing reported by The Express Tribune, the legal challenge asserts that the Supreme Court's August 18 instructions, which mandated virtual communication between Imran Khan and his sons alongside weekly access for his sisters, have failed to materialise. The petition highlights that Uzma Khan was denied a scheduled visit on Tuesday and notes that audio communication with his sons has remained restricted since March.

Furthermore, the submission maintains that authorities neglected to establish the necessary infrastructure enabling bi-weekly telephone calls with his sons, Kasim Khan and Sulaiman Khan, as previously ordered by the bench. Consequently, the plea requests the judiciary to issue binding directives ensuring complete compliance with the August 18 rulings regarding family contact. This latest legal move follows an earlier contempt application addressing government non-compliance regarding a separate instruction within the August 18 order, which directed that Imran Khan be moved to Shifa International Hospital for medical care.

Under the original August 18 decision, the Supreme Court instructed that the former premier be transferred to Shifa International Hospital for clinical evaluation by a multidisciplinary medical panel while simultaneously granting visitation rights. Despite those mandates, authorities instead transferred him to the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) on August 21, returning him to Adiala Jail shortly afterwards after medical personnel declared him to be "medically fit".

Recurrence of visitation denials manifested on Tuesday when relatives were once again blocked from accessing Imran Khan at Rawalpindi's Adiala Jail, while family members of his wife, Bushra Bibi, faced identical restrictions. Reacting to the developments, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) lambasted prison administrators for barring relatives from seeing the party founder, characterising the restrictions as a flagrant breach of mandates issued by both the Supreme Court and the Islamabad High Court, as reported by another Pakistan-based daily, Dawn.

The political party argued that persistent denial of access despite clear judicial rulings exposes alarming non-compliance by superior judicial authorities, while pressing prison officials to respect legal frameworks and permit regular family interactions for both Imran Khan and Bushra Bibi. (ANI)