SC dismisses request for 'immediate meeting' with Imran Khan

• Notice to govt issued on Latif Khosa’s request.
• SC questions maintainability of petition at current stage.
• CJP Afridi says case may already be infructuous.

The Supreme Court on Monday rejected a request seeking an immediate meeting with incarcerated party founder Imran Khan, observing that no such order could be passed without issuing prior notice to the government.

The request for a meeting with the ousted prime minister was made by PTI senior leader Latif Khosa.

Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Yahya Afridi, while addressing Khosa during the hearing, observed that the court could not pass any order regarding a meeting without first issuing notice to the government.

However, the court issued notice to the government for Tuesday on Khosa’s request for a meeting with the PTI founder.

The chief justice remarked that, at this stage, the court would first have to cross the hurdle of objections regarding the maintainability of the petition. He further reminded the petitioner that related matters were already pending before other courts.

"We are of the view that this case has become ineffective," the chief justice observed. He also noted that the case before the court stemmed from an order issued on August 24, 2023.

Reiterating the court’s position, the chief justice said no order regarding a meeting could be passed without issuing notice. He added that the court would have to determine whether the case had become infructuous or could still be pursued.

In recent months, the former ruling party has staged multiple protests over the lack of access to the jailed leader.

Khan, who has been in jail since August 2023, faces several cases ranging from corruption to terrorism, following his ouster from power through the opposition’s no-confidence motion in April 2022.

Last week, the Supreme Court said that a memorandum submitted by PTI leadership on February 6 had once again been conveyed to the “relevant executive authorities” for appropriate consideration under the law.

In a statement, a public relations officer of the top court said: "The concerns relating to access to the imprisoned PTI leader and the provision of medical reports were once again conveyed to the relevant executive authorities…".

The SC official said that a group of parliamentarians affiliated to the former ruling party, including Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi, gathered in front of the court last month to register their concerns regarding access to their imprisoned leader.

The official said that the SC registrar engaged with the PTI’s representatives and assured them that the concerns would be brought to the notice of CJP Yahya Afridi.

“Later in the day, their counsel, Mr Salman Akram Raja, Advocate Supreme Court, was granted audience by the honourable chief justice of Pakistan,” read the statement.

As the matter raised did not directly pertain to proceedings pending before the SC, the concerns were referred to the relevant “executive authorities” for consideration in accordance with law, on which the gathering dispersed peacefully.