ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) has dismissed a petition seeking the parole release of former prime minister and PTI founder Imran Khan, citing multiple procedural flaws.
The petition was submitted by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur through senior lawyer Latif Khosa, requesting temporary release for Khan, who is currently imprisoned in Adiala Jail. However, the IHC Registrar’s Office returned the plea, stating it failed to meet basic legal standards.
Key objections included:
- The petition was not filed by Khan himself.
- Imran Khan was not formally named as a party in the case.
- The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) — the prosecuting agency in the corruption case against Khan — was not listed as a respondent.
- Full addresses of the involved parties were missing.
- The legal standing of a third party (Gandapur) to file such a plea was unclear.
As a result, the Registrar’s Office rejected the filing and directed the petitioner to resubmit it with necessary corrections.
The petition had warned of a potential drone strike on Adiala Jail, citing rising regional tensions and recent drone activity amid hostilities with India. It argued that Khan’s life was in danger and that his temporary release was necessary for national security and unity.
It further claimed that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi considers Imran Khan a major threat, labeling him as “India’s top enemy,” and suggested Khan was a potential target due to his past confrontations with New Delhi.
The plea also emphasized that Khan’s release could help unify the nation during a time of heightened external threats, referencing his health issues and invoking the Good Conduct Prisoners’ Probational Release Act, 1926, as well as international precedents such as Nelson Mandela’s parole and Pakistan’s 2020 Supreme Court order for prisoner release during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Imran Khan has been in custody since August 2023, serving a sentence in the £190 million corruption case, while also facing charges under the Anti-Terrorism Act related to the May 9, 2023 protests. The petition described these cases as politically driven and lacking credible evidence.
