IHC seeks arguments on Imran Khan’s X account ban

IHC seeks arguments on Imran Khan's X account ban

The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Thursday directed lawyers to present arguments on the merits of a petition seeking a ban on the X (formerly Twitter) account of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan at the next hearing.

Justice Arbab Muhammad Tahir heard the case and also sought the PTI’s position on the matter. The court asked counsel for PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan to convey the party’s stance regarding Imran Khan’s X account.

The hearing also covered a contempt petition filed over the denial of a meeting between Imran Khan and his lawyer, Salman Akram Raja, despite an earlier court order allowing the meeting.

The superintendent of Adiala Jail told the court that political discussions had taken place during previous meetings with Imran Khan. On that basis, the jail authorities had not allowed Raja to meet the PTI founder.

Justice Arbab questioned whether Raja could meet Imran if he gave an undertaking that he would not discuss political matters during the meeting. The state counsel said he would seek instructions from the advocate general and inform the court at the next hearing.

Raja told the court that he could not argue the main petition without first receiving instructions from Imran Khan. He also pointed out that the court had previously allowed him to meet his client, but the jail authorities had not implemented the order.

When the court asked why PTI had not submitted its response, a lawyer representing Barrister Gohar appeared and said the PTI chairman was currently out of the city and would appear at the next hearing.

Justice Arbab clarified that Gohar did not need to appear personally and directed his counsel to communicate the party’s position.

Raja maintained that PTI was not a party to the case and that Imran Khan remained the principal petitioner. He argued that his client must have an opportunity to provide instructions before he could properly represent him.

The judge asked Raja whether he was representing Imran Khan. Raja replied that he could not obtain instructions because the jail authorities had prevented him from meeting his client.

The court also questioned the Adiala Jail authorities about why Raja was not being allowed to obtain a power of attorney signed by Imran.

Raja, however, said the issue went beyond the power of attorney, stressing that he needed to meet Imran to receive instructions for the case. He argued that if the authorities had reservations about the court’s earlier order permitting the meeting, they should have challenged the order through the proper legal process.

The court will hear further arguments on the petition and the meeting issue at the next hearing.