— PTI counsel Barrister Salman Safdar says his 40-minute meeting with Imran Khan and Bushra Bibi at Adiala jail was insufficient to discuss their numerous legal cases, as restrictions on access to the incarcerated couple continue despite repeated court directions
By Irum Saleem
In a rare development amid continuing restrictions on access to Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan, his counsel Barrister Salman Safdar on Monday met the incarcerated former prime minister and his wife, Bushra Bibi, at Adiala jail in Rawalpindi.
The meeting was significant as it was Safdar’s first interaction with Mr Khan in seven months and with Bushra Bibi in 11 months, highlighting the difficulties faced by the PTI leadership and legal team in maintaining contact with the couple despite multiple court directives permitting meetings.
In a post on X, Mr Safdar said the meeting lasted around 40 minutes, describing the time as insufficient to discuss the various cases and legal matters involving the couple.
“Both briefed me on their health conditions and living conditions and gave fresh instructions for some legal matters and cases,” he said.
The meeting comes against the backdrop of growing concerns within the PTI over the former prime minister’s prolonged incarceration and restrictions on his access to family members, party leaders and legal representatives.
Despite repeated judicial directions allowing meetings, Imran’s interactions with his family and political associates have remained largely restricted in recent months. His sisters, Aleema Khan, Noreen Niazi and Uzma Khan, along with opposition leaders and party supporters, have staged repeated sit-ins outside Adiala jail, demanding access to him and calling for his release.
The restrictions have also triggered criticism from the opposition, which maintains that denying an incarcerated political leader regular access to his lawyers and family undermines his legal rights and raises questions about the implementation of court orders.
Imran has remained behind bars since August 5, 2023, when he was arrested following his conviction in the Toshakhana case involving the concealment of details of state gifts. He subsequently faced convictions in several other cases, including the £190 million corruption reference, commonly known as the Al-Qadir Trust case, in which he and Bushra Bibi were sentenced to 14 years in prison.
The couple were also convicted in another Toshakhana-related case in December 2025, receiving sentences of 10 years and seven years, respectively. The PTI founder additionally faces trials in several terrorism-related cases stemming from the May 9, 2023 riots.
The latest meeting is likely to provide the PTI legal team with an opportunity to reassess its strategy in the pending cases. However, Safdar’s account of the limited time available for consultations underscores the difficulties of preparing the former prime minister’s legal defence while he remains incarcerated.
For the PTI, access to its founding chairman has increasingly become a political as well as a legal issue, with the party repeatedly accusing the authorities of isolating him from his family, lawyers and political colleagues.
The government, however, has maintained that matters relating to jail meetings are governed by established rules and security requirements.
