Punjab’s interior ministry has banned all meetings with prisoners in Adiala Jail, including Imran Khan, following the threat of a terrorist attack.
The decision was made after intelligence agencies told the government that Adiala Jail could be attacked by terrorists.
After the orders, media coverage infront of Adiala Jail’s gate no. 5 has also been banned.
The jail is currently housing many high-profile prisoners including former Prime Minister Imran Khan and former Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi.
The jail administration had set aside Tuesday and Thursday as meeting days for Imran Khan. Party leaders, lawyers and family members have all regularly met him in jail.
Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi and Fawad Chaudhry are also imprisoned in the same jail.
The development comes less than a week after police claimed that a major terrorist plan involving Adiala Jail had been foiled.
Police claimed that three terrorists had been apprehended and moved to a ‘safe’ location. The terrorists reportedly had weapons as well as maps of the jail with them.
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s nominated opposition leader Omar Ayub Khan had also recently claimed that he had been denied permission by the jail authorities to meet Khan despite court orders.
The PTI leader had held the jails’ superintendent responsible for the permission being denied and also announced that the party would move a resolution in the assembly regarding the matter.
Imran Khan was arrested on August 5 from his Lahore residence, minutes after an Islamabad court declared him guilty of corrupt practices in the Toshakhana case. Originally incarcerated in Atoock Jail, he was moved to Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi on September 26.
Since his imprisonment, Khan has not been seen in public and has not even been brought to court hearings.
Instead, judges and lawyers have travelled to court for the trial. The government maintains that the jail trial was made due to security concerns.
Days before the general election this year, Khan was sentenced to jail for 10 years in the cipher case, seven years in the illegal nikkah case and 14 years in the Toshakhana reference.
