Adiala | Pakistan

RAWALPINDI: A first information report (FIR) was registered on Tuesday against the 14 prisoners who escaped from a police van a day earlier while being transported to Rawalpindi’s Adiala jail, with fresh details emerging that the fugitives threw red chilli powder at the police officials escorting them to facilitate their escape. Along with the 14 accused, the FIR, a copy of which is available with Dawn, also nominated five police officials who were present at the site of the incident, which occurred within the jurisdiction of the Sihala police station in Islamabad, for neglecting their respective duties, enabling the prisoners to escape. The complaint was registered under the following provisions of law: Sections 224 (resistance or obstruction by a person to their lawful apprehension), 353 (assault or criminal force to deter a public servant from discharging their duty), 186 (obstructing a public servant in the discharge of public functions), 34 (acts done by several persons in furtherance of a common intenti...

RAWALPINDI: As many as 14 under-trial prisoners escaped from a prisoner van on Monday while being transported from Kahuta to Adiala jail after overpowering security guards, prompting police to launch a search operation, a statement said. “Following reports of prisoners escaping from a prison van in the Sihala area of Rawalpindi, CPO Hamdani took notice of the incident and directed senior officers to immediately reach the scene, submit a report, and launch an operation,” said a statement by a Rawalpindi Police spokesperson. However, the police spokesperson added that four of the escaped prisoners had been re-arrested during an operation, while police teams were continuing search operations to apprehend the remaining escapees. “The escaped individuals are accused in cases currently under trial,” the spokesperson said. The statement added that the incident occurred within the jurisdiction of Sihala police station in Islamabad district, and coordination with the relevant police authorities was ongoing. According ...

ISLAMABAD: The sisters of PTI founder Imran Khan and other party leaders were once again prevented from meeting him at Rawalpindi’s Adiala jail on Tuesday, as the party railed against the jail administration, claiming it had misled the court regarding power of attorney documents for the former premier and his wife. The Islamabad High Court (IHC) has allowed Imran twice-a-week meetings — on Tuesdays and Thursdays — with his family, lawyers and other associates. Despite the order, the ex-premier has been largely restricted from meeting visitors for several months as the court’s directives have not been implemented. Imran’s sisters and PTI leaders reached Adiala jail in the morning, but were not allowed to meet the incarcerated former prime minister. Speaking to reporters outside the jail, Aleema recalled how initially, Imran’s meetings with party leaders were banned, after which family members were also stopped from meeting him. PTI Secretary General Salman Akram Raja said a large number of people reached Adial...

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court (SC) on Thursday ordered the Adiala jail superintendent, Punjab’s home secretary, the Islamabad advocate general and the Punjab advocate general to furnish their replies within three weeks in a case concerning the denial of access to incarcerated PTI founder Imran Khan. A petition was filed by PTI Secretary General Salman Akram Raja, challenging the Islamabad High Court’s (IHC) October 23, 2025, dismissal of his contempt petition, which sought enforcement of the court’s directives regarding visitation rights for Imran’s legal team at Adiala jail. The directives were issued today by a three-member bench comprising Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar, Justice Musarrat Hilali, and Justice Shahid Bilal Hassan. During the hearing, Justice Mazhar said the bench would not be available next week, but the appeal would be scheduled for hearing, directing that appeals be fixed within three weeks. The court also directed that the IHC’s order of Oct 23, 2025, be placed on record during the hearing. In...

ISLAMABAD: While the PTI leadership distanced itself from the call to gather 10,000 people outside Adiala jail on Tuesday, claiming that National Assembly Opposition Leader Mahmood Khan Achakzai did not inform them, the TTAP spokesperson rejected the claim. PTI founder Imran Khan’s sister Aleema Khan claimed a day earlier that she was approached by Achakzai and told that 10,000 people could gather outside Rawalpindi’s Adiala Jail — where the party founder is incarcerated — if a time was provided. “It had been decided that we will hold a sit-in from 3pm–7pm,” she said. However, PTI Parliamentary Leader in the National Assembly Shahid Khattak, talking to the media on the same day, rejected the suggestion that such an arrangement had been made. “Mahmood Khan Achakzai did not inform us that 10,000 persons had to be gathered; we could have gathered them. Even I could have brought 200 people,” he said. Khattak added that Achakzai should also have informed the party about the planned gathering so that it could mobil...

ISLAMABAD: PTI leaders on Thursday arrived at Adiala jail hoping to meet party founder Imran Khan but were once again denied permission to meet the former prime minister. The Islamabad High Court (IHC) has allowed the incarcerated ex-premier to have twice-a-week meetings — on Tuesdays and Thursdays — with his family, lawyers and other associates. Despite the order, Imran has been restricted from meeting visitors for several months. A day earlier, the PTI sent a list of six leaders to Adiala jail authorities, requesting that they arrange a meeting with the incarcerated former premier. The list included Seemabia Tahir, Usman Jora, Asad Abbas, Malik Yasir Patwali, Malik Azeem and Rohail Anjum. Patwali, while speaking to Dawn, said that all the leaders arrived at the prison well before 2pm. “We informed the prison administration that we had been nominated for the meeting, as per the directions of the IHC, but we were told that a message was being sent for approval,” he said. “Officials also recorded our video foo...

ISLAMABAD: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi and Imran Khan’s sister Aleema Khan on Wednesday claimed that shots were fired at sit-in participants on Tuesday night, injuring several people. On Tuesday, a caravan led by CM Afridi, which was on its way to Rawalpindi’s Adiala jail to meet Imran, was stopped from entering Islamabad, prompting the participants to stage a sit-in at the intersection of Srinagar Highway and G.T. Road — loca­lly referred to as Chungi No. 26. Addressing a press conference, Afridi claimed that shots were fired on Tuesday to disperse them. He said that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was supplying gas to the entire country, but in return, bullets were being fired at parliamentarians and wheat supplies to the province had been blocked. During the press conference, they also showed a video in which shots were allegedly fired at different participants in the sit-in. They also asked whether the state has any example in which the sisters of former prime ministers have faced the treatment bei...

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Faisal Karim Kundi called on the Centre to address his province’s issues, asserting that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif “should take interest” in the matter. At the same time, he also said he had conveyed to KP Chief Minister Sohail Afridi to focus on the “province’s governance rather than Adiala” — a reference to the PTI’s efforts and frequent protests outside the jail in Rawalpindi for party founder Imran Khan’s release. Kundi made these remarks while speaking to the media in Islamabad after he met KP CM Afridi at the Governor House in Peshawar earlier in the day. Speaking to the media, he warned that the “people of KP have reached a point where if they take to the streets tomorrow, nobody could be held responsible for it”. Kundi urged the federal government to address KP’s issues, including the suspension of CNG supply and restrictions on wheat movement. “If Punjab has issues with supplying wheat to KP, then allow us passage to ensure supply from Sindh,” Kundi said, claiming that...

ISLAMABAD: After skipping Adiala jail visits for two consecutive weeks, PTI leaders on Thursday managed to reach the prison for a meeting with incarcerated party founder Imran Khan, which was once again denied. The Islamabad High Court (IHC) has allowed Imran twice-a-week meetings — on Tuesdays and Thursdays — with his family, lawyers and other associates. Despite court orders, Imran’s meetings with the family and the party leaders have been largely restricted. While Imran’s sisters continue to show up at the jail on Tuesdays, party leaders were nowhere to be seen the past two weeks, prompting criticism of the leadership. On Wednesday, a list of PTI leaders’ names was sent to the Adiala jail superintendent for a meeting with Imran. The initial list sent to the jail administration included the names of PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan, Advocate Hamid Khan and Barrister Ali Zafar. However, PTI Secretary General Salman Akram Raja — who has been authorised by the IHC to share the names of leaders who intend ...

ISLAMABAD: Amid murmurs of divisions within the PTI, not a single party leader arrived at Adiala jail on Thursday, one of two days on which former premier Imran Khan is allowed visitors. The Islamabad High Court has allowed Imran twice-a-week meetings — on Tuesdays and Thursdays — with his family, lawyers and other associates. Despite the order, the ex-premier has been largely restricted from meeting visitors for several months as the court’s directives have not been implemented. On Wednesday, PTI Secretary General Salman Akram Raja had sent a list of six leaders to the jail administration, as per the court orders, to meet Imran. PTI leaders Falak Naz Chitrali, Fazal Elahi, Ehtesham Khan, Sardar Ghulam Ali, Asghar Khan Lehri, Syed Naseebullah Agha and Chaudhry Javed Akhtar Gujjar were included in the list. However, on Thursday, none of the party leaders managed to reach Adiala jail till 4pm, the cutoff time for meeting with inmates. Speaking to Dawn, PTI Central Information Secretary Sheikh Waqas Akram said t...

Bushra Bibi, the wife of incarcerated ex-premier and PTI founder Imran Khan, was shifted back to Adiala jail on Friday after undergoing an eye surgery at a Rawalpindi hospital, according to jail authorities. Bushra is serving a seven-year sentence in the £190 million corruption case. In December 2025, she was sen­tenced to 17 years’ imprisonment in the Toshakhana 2 case, which revolved around the purchase of an expensive jewelry set gifted to Imran by the Saudi crown prince during his May 2021 visit. The PTI has expressed concern over reports about her health, demanding that she be taken to a hospital for diagnosis and treatment. According to a press release by the Adiala jail authorities, she had complained of impaired vision in her right eye, due to which the prison administrators immediately had her examined by ophthalmologists. The superintendent of the jail said that retinal detachment was diagnosed in the right eye. In view of the diagnosis, doctors advised surgery, he added. On Thursday evening, the pa...

ISLAMABAD: Not a single PTI leader arrived at Adiala jail on Thursday to meet incarcerated ex-premier Imran Khan, despite the names of the party’s heavyweights being sent to the prison administration. The Islamabad High Court has allowed Imran twice-a-week meetings — on Tuesdays and Thursdays — with his family, lawyers and other associates. Despite the order, the ex-premier has been largely restricted from meeting visitors for several months. Party leaders have been facing severe criticism for the last few months as they usually nominate the second or third-tier leadership for meetings with Imran on Thursdays. Meanwhile, on Tuesdays, Imran’s sisters consistently reach Adiala jail in an effort to meet their brother, regardless of the fact that such a meeting has not been allowed in recent months. For Thursday’s meeting, the party had decided to include PTI heavyweights to curb the criticism being levied against the leadership. The list of names sent to Adiala jail Superintendent Sajid Baig, available with Dawn...

ISLAMABAD: In a surprising turn of events, the sisters of incarcerated PTI founder Imran Khan on Tuesday managed to make their way to Adiala jail but were still denied a meeting with their brother. The sisters were not allowed to enter the jail by the authorities, following which they returned to the checkpost where they are typically stopped by police. Speaking to the media, Aleema Khan said, “Usually, police do not allow us to proceed onward and the jail administration informs the court that we did not arrive because of which the meeting could not be arranged.” “This time we reached outside the gate of Adiala jail and informed them that we are here,” she added. She said they made sure that their faces were recorded in the CCTV footage so that the jail administration would not deny their presence. Asked how the sisters managed to reach the main gate, Aleema replied that they would not reveal how, as in that case, it would become difficult to do the same again. “We could have stayed there but police officials...

ISLAMABAD: Barrister Salman Safdar on Thursday met PTI founder Imran Khan at Adiala jail, a day after the Islamabad High Court (IHC) directed authorities to arrange the meeting. However, the lawyer departed from the premises without sharing any details with the media. Meanwhile, PTI information secretary Sheikh Waqas Akram said that Imran had directed the party to postpone its public meeting scheduled for Thursday (April 9) at Liaqat Bagh. He said that a message had been given by Imran that the protest should be postponed due to the prevailing national and international situation. “Imran Khan has said that he will himself inform about the new date of the protest,” he said. Later, Safdar said in a series of posts on X that he had meet Imran at 3pm, but the ex-premier’s spouse, Bushra Bibi, “was not called from her cell to join the attorney-client meeting for crucial instructions” despite requests and court orders. He said the meeting lasted for 60 minutes, during which Imran was comprehensively briefed on all ...

ISLAMABAD/RAWALPINDI: The PTI said on Tuesday that the sisters of incarcerated party founder Imran Khan were taken into custody by law enforcement agencies as they attempted to stage a protest outside Adiala jail. The PTI had called for a “peaceful protest” outside the Adiala jail on Tuesday against the restrictions on meeting Imran. The party has also announced a protest in Rawalpindi on April 9 (Thursday), marking the day the former prime minister was ousted in a no-confidence motion in 2022. However, Section 144 was imposed in Rawalpindi under which gatherings were banned across the district for 15 days. Despite the imposition of Section 144 and the rainy weather in the twin cities, a large number of leaders and workers of PTI reached Adiala jail on Tuesday. PTI Core Committee member Seemabia Tahir told Dawn that party leaders, along with Imran’s three sisters, were stopped at DHA Chowk near Adiala jail. “Law enforcement agencies had already vacated a hotel in the vicinity; they arrested Noreen Niazi and U...

ISLAMABAD: Meetings with the incarcerated PTI founder Imran Khan continued to remain suspended on Thursday as authorities yet again stopped party leaders outside Adiala jail. PTI Secretary General Salman Akram Raja had previously given a list of six names to jail authorities for a meeting with Imran. The leaders included Seemabia Tahir, Haider Mehdi, Raja Saqib Ali, Jahangir Ahmed Butt, Malik Najam Khan and Muhammad Owais Qaiser. Talking to Dawn, Tahir, a member of the party’s core committee, said that the time slot for meetings was from 2pm to 4pm. She said that workers and leaders reached Adiala jail at 1:45pm. “At the Dhagil check post, we informed authorities that our names were included in the list and, as per orders of the apex court, we should be allowed to meet Imran. But we were not allowed to move ahead. We were left with no option, so we started protesting,” she said. “We remained there till 4:30pm and finally decided to return,” she said. Replying to a question, she said that it was unfortunate th...

ISLAMABAD: Sisters of incarcerated PTI founder Imran Khan were again not allowed to meet him at Rawalpindi’s Adiala jail on Tuesday, while his party termed the persistent denial of meetings with the ex-prime minister a “blatant violation of fundamental human and constitutional rights”. The IHC has allowed Imran twice-a-week meetings — on Tuesday and Thursdays — with his family, lawyers and other associates. Despite the order, the ex-premier has not been largely restricted from meeting visitors for several weeks. His last meeting took place with his lawyer, Salman Safdar, on February 10, after the Supreme Court’s intervention following a long period of no visits being allowed. Speaking to the media outside the Adiala jail, one of Imran’s sisters, Aleema Khanum, said it was important to determine the cause of Imran’s medical issues, which have garnered attention in recent days. Concerns mounted after partial vision loss in Imran’s right eye was reported via Safdar after he met him. Doctors later confirmed that,...

ISLAMABAD: As the TTAP’s sit-in continued for the fifth day after the blocked routes to Parliament House were cleared, the alliance expressed hope on Tuesday that at least one family member of the incarcerated PTI founder Imran Khan or a party leader would be allowed to meet him today amid concerns about his health. The hope, however, did not materialise. In the afternoon, an X account of the PTI said that a vehicle carrying Imran’s sisters was stopped at the Chakri Interchange while on its way to the Adiala jail. Later, Imran’s sister Aleema Khanum also claimed in a post that “we were stopped at the Chakri police post by the police. When we informed them that we intended to leave and proceed to Islamabad, they unlawfully blocked us and detained us there for the next four hours”. “We have now been released and are on our way to Islamabad,” she added. PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan and Secretary General Salman Akram Raja also sought to meet Imran today but were told by the Adiala jail administration tha...

ISLAMABAD: PTI lawyer Salman Safdar on Tuesday met ex-premier Imran Khan at Adiala jail, saying that the party founder appeared fine healthwise. The meeting, which lasted nearly three hours, came after the Supreme Court earlier in the day allowed Safdar to meet Imran. Speaking to reporters outside the jail, Safdar said that Imran was fine and was looking healthy. However, he did not share further details about the meeting, saying that he had to submit a report to the court. He said once the report was submitted to the court, he would be able to share the details. SC allows lawyer to meet Imran Earlier in the day, the SC had allowed Safdar to meet Imran, declaring him amicus curiae. The development came a day after a request for an ‘urgent’ meeting — submitted by senior PTI leader Latif Khosa — was rejected by a two-member bench comprising Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Yahya Afridi and Justice Shahid Bilal Hassan. The bench observed that such an order could not be passed without hearing the other side. Hence...

ISLAMABAD: The PTI accused police of subjecting its workers to violence and arresting them near Rawalpindi’s Adiala jail, where they were staging a sit-in on Tuesday. The IHC has allowed Imran twice-a-week meetings — on Tuesday and Thursdays — with his family, lawyers and other associates. Despite the order, the ex-premier has not been allowed any visitors for weeks, including his sisters and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi. Therefore, protests and sit-ins near the Adiala jail, where Imran has been incarcerated since September 2023, have become a usual occurrence on Tuesdays and Thursdays. On several occasions, police have also used force to disperse the protesters, who often camp at Factory Naka — a police picket near the prison. Imran’s sisters and supporters again staged a sit-in near the prison today while a PTI post on social media platform alleged that police had inflicted violence on party workers and arrested them as well. A livestream on the PTI’s YouTube channel showed one of Imran’s...