Barrister Salman Safdar, the counsel for former prime minister Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi, has submitted an affidavit to the Islamabad High Court about his meetings with them at Adiala Jail. The affidavit was filed on Saturday on the direction of Justice Arbab Muhammad Tahir, who had asked the lawyer to place on record a written account of his access to his clients.
In the affidavit, Safdar said he met Imran Khan on November 4 and Bushra Bibi on November 6, and that both meetings were held inside the jail under the court’s order. He said he discussed the cases with them during the meetings and was able to take instructions from his clients.
“I have never been stopped or prevented from meeting my clients,” Safdar said in the affidavit. He added: “I have neither been pressured, intimidated nor prevented from doing my work in Adiala Jail.” The court directed the authorities to ensure that the meetings are held, and ordered that the affidavit be placed on record.
Access to the jailed couple has been one of the central disputes of their imprisonment. Safdar had earlier told the court that he had been unable to meet his clients for months and could not obtain instructions or signed powers of attorney for their appeals, and the court had intervened more than once to facilitate meetings.
According to the court proceedings, Imran Khan met his sisters on November 6 and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf leaders on November 5, while Bushra Bibi met the former prime minister on November 4. Party leaders, lawyers and family members also met Imran Khan on November 6.
The development comes days before the Islamabad High Court is due to hear the couple’s appeals against their convictions in the 190 million pound case. A two-member bench led by Chief Justice Sardar Muhammad Sarfraz Dogar has fixed the appeals for hearing on November 10. An accountability court had sentenced Imran Khan to 14 years and Bushra Bibi to seven years in the case in January 2025.
