Pakistan: Petition in Islamabad HC challenges "provocative, malicious" posts from Imran Khan's X account during imprisonment

Islamabad [Pakistan], September 21 (ANI): A petition has been filed in the Islamabad High Court (IHC) against alleged inflammatory posts made from the official X account of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan during his imprisonment, Dawn reported.

The plea was filed by citizen Ghulam Murtaza Khan through Barrister Zafarullah Khan Advocate. It argued that the dissemination of "provocative and malicious" content from the account of a convicted prisoner is unlawful and contrary to prison rules.

Building on this argument, the petitioner urged the court to direct the National Cybercrime Investigation Agency and the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) to investigate who has been managing the PTI founder's account while he remains incarcerated.

The petition further sought orders for blocking and removing such content from social media platforms. It also called for directions to the jail superintendent to prevent the prisoner from accessing or operating social media, terming such activity "unconstitutional and illegal," according to Dawn.

In addition, the petitioner asked the court to restrain PTI from redistributing or promoting any posts originating from the founder's account during his imprisonment. Against this backdrop, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan has refused to cooperate with investigators from the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) during their visits to Adiala Jail, where he is currently incarcerated, Dawn reported.

According to the report, despite repeated attempts by NCCIA to question the former prime minister regarding his "X" handle, officials have been unable to obtain any information as he has consistently declined to meet them.

Citing sources, Dawn said a three-member NCCIA team led by Additional Director Ayaz Khan visited Central Jail Adiala on Thursday for the second time this week to interrogate the PTI founder. However, Khan told the team to "bring his lawyers if they wanted to question him on any matter" and refused to participate in the investigation.

The team, which reached Adiala Jail around 3.30 pm, left nearly two hours later without any progress amid tight security. Dawn reported that the probe was initiated after tweets critical of government officials and the establishment were posted from Khan's account. Earlier in the week, the same team had visited the prison to pursue the matter.

Separately, a petition has been filed in the Islamabad High Court (IHC) seeking permission for Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi to exercise conjugal rights while being held at Adiala Jail. The plea, filed under Article 199 of the Constitution by Shahid Yaqoob, a resident of Islamabad and supporter of Khan, named the Chief Commissioner Islamabad, the Punjab government, the Inspector General of Prisons Punjab, and the Superintendent of Adiala Jail as respondents.

The petitioner argued that denying conjugal rights violates constitutional guarantees, international conventions, and prior court rulings. The plea cited the UN Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners (Nelson Mandela Rules), the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and the European Convention on Human Rights, all of which safeguard the right to family life, Dawn stated.

The petition also referred to a 2010 notification issued by the Sindh Home Department following Supreme Court directions, which permitted convicted inmates conjugal visits every three months. It further relied on a Federal Shariat Court judgement recognising conjugal rights for prisoners as a fundamental entitlement, urging the IHC to enforce directives of both the SC and Federal Shariat Court.

Meanwhile, in a related development, a police spokesperson confirmed that security would be heightened around the Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) in Rawalpindi on Friday during the hearing of the GHQ attack case. Dawn reported that Khan is scheduled to attend the proceedings via video link. (ANI)

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