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The Islamabad High Court on Friday granted Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leaders and lawyers permission to visit former prime minister Imran Khan, who is currently incarcerated in Adiala jail, and hold election meetings on the 2024 general elections, as reported by Dawn.
The order was passed by Justice Miangul Hasan Aurangzeb on a petition filed by Imran seeking permission to hold meetings with party members Asad Qaiser, Junaid Akbar Khan, senators Aurangzeb Khan and Dost Mohammad Khan, and Ishtiaq Meherban, among others, to strategise ahead of the elections. The plea further requested that the court instruct the superintendent of Adiala Jail to ensure privacy for Imran during his consultations with his legal team. Following the release of the poll schedule, election-related activities have begun inside the camps of major political parties, according to Dawn. The election programme is fully under way, with the deadline for filing nomination papers over on Sunday. Meanwhile, the returning officers will examine the nomination papers from December 25 to December 30. Earlier, PTI Chairman Gohar Khan said that the decision to allot tickets would still be taken by Imran. Meanwhile, Barrister Ali Zafar asserted that PTI workers in jail would be prioritised when it came to the allotment of tickets, according to Dawn. Today, Attorney-General for Pakistan (AGP) Mansoor Usman Awan, PTI lawyers and the Adiala Jail superintendent appeared in the IHC. PTI counsel Shoaib Shaheen first stated that the party needed to have talks before allocating 700 tickets, but the AGP objected to the maintainability of the plea. Justice Aurangzeb expressed displeasure at Awan's arguments and asked, "Is the additional note from the Supreme Court insufficient for you? Do you want me to write a note against you as well?" He passed these remarks about Justice Athar Minallah's additional note in the cypher case. In his note, the SC judge highlighted that it was the Election Commission of Pakistan and the government's duty to ensure that the public was facilitated in expressing its will through a "genuine election", adding that it was also bound to ensure that there was no perception of oppression or repression against one political party while others were treated favourably. Mentioning these remarks, Justice Aurangzeb said the AGP and advocate general were representing the caretaker government and should therefore be impartial, according to Dawn. "A terrible system is being run under the interim government where even consultation on elections is not allowed," he said, asking if the caretakers wanted to "derail the polls". Following this, the court allowed PTI lawyers, including Chairman Gohar Khan, to hold consultations with Imran in jail. Moreover, the court also passed orders for a meeting between Gohar and the ex-premier to be held under the supervision of the jail superintendent, as reported by Dawn. "Permission for consultations on polls is a fundamental right," Justice Aurangzeb said, stressing that the caretaker government should be "neutral" during elections. (ANI)
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