Reporting snapshot · 1 September 2026. This reports the Islamabad High Court's order and the positions argued by the petitioners and the jail authorities. The underlying allegations of solitary confinement were disputed in court and are attributed to the parties.
What happened
The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Tuesday, 1 September 2026, directed the authorities at Adiala Jail not to keep former prime minister Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi in solitary confinement, and ordered that their family meetings and other facilities be restored.
Justice Khadim Hussain Soomro issued the directions while disposing of two connected petitions that alleged the couple were being held in isolation at the Rawalpindi jail, after declaring the petitions maintainable.
What the court ordered
The court directed the superintendent of Adiala Jail to ensure that neither Imran Khan nor Bushra Bibi was kept in solitary confinement. It ordered that Imran Khan be allowed to meet his family in accordance with jail rules and that he be facilitated in speaking to his sons by telephone. The court said the telephone facility would be withdrawn if the conversations were used for political purposes.
The jail authorities were also directed to provide Imran Khan with newspapers and books daily and to ensure he receives medical facilities in accordance with jail rules. The superintendent was told to submit a compliance report to the court within 15 days.
The petitions were filed separately by Imran Khan’s sister, Aleema Khan, and by Bushra Bibi’s daughter, Mubashra Khawar Maneka. The court declared them maintainable in light of judicial precedents, including decisions in the Nusrat Bhutto and Begum Shamim Afridi cases.
The dispute
The court had reserved its verdict on the petitions on 6 August 2026 after hearing arguments from both sides. During those proceedings, Justice Soomro observed that the judgments delivered by the accountability courts in the £190 million and Toshakhana-I cases did not provide for solitary confinement as a punishment.
Islamabad Advocate General Naveed Malik denied that either Imran Khan or Bushra Bibi was being held in solitary confinement, and a National Accountability Bureau prosecutor objected to the petitions on the grounds that the relatives lacked standing to file them.
Background
Imran Khan has been imprisoned since August 2023 and is serving a sentence in the £190 million case, also known as the Al-Qadir Trust case. Bushra Bibi is also serving a prison term in related proceedings. The latest order comes amid a continuing dispute over Imran Khan’s medical care, which included a Supreme Court plea over his hospital transfer earlier in 2026. Their family members and party have alleged that the cases are politically motivated, an accusation the government rejects.
Sources & reporting notes
This is a summary of published reporting, not independent on-the-ground reporting. Facts and attributed statements are as carried by the cited sources, which were reviewed on 1 September 2026.
- The Express Tribune — "IHC directs Adiala jail authorities to keep Imran, Bushra Bibi out of solitary confinement"1 September 2026 · The court's directions, the petitions, the maintainability ruling and the 15-day compliance order.
- The Hindu — "Pakistan High Court directs jail authorities not to keep Imran Khan, wife in solitary confinement"1 September 2026 · Corroboration of the order and the facilities directed for the two prisoners.
