Rights in jail

The Islamabad High Court has ordered the Adiala Jail superintendent to ensure former Prime Minister Imran Khan and former first lady Bushra Bibi receive the privileges to which they are entitled as prisoners and are not kept in isolation.

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The admitted fact remains that access of the general prison population to his place of confinement is substantially restricted and his meaningful social interaction is consequently limited.

Although jail officials and government representatives have repeatedly denied that the two are being held in solitary confinement for extended periods, medical records submitted by authorities indicate that Khan has begun suffering physical effects from isolation. The court noted that access by the general prison population to his place of confinement remains substantially restricted, limiting his meaningful social interaction.

The court also found that the record prima facie recognizes the adverse effect of restricted social and family contact on the prisoner’s psychological and physical well-being. It stated that a prisoner’s rights to life, dignity and humane treatment do not disappear at the prison gate.

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The record prima facie recognises the adverse impact of restricted social and familial interaction upon the prisoner’s psychological and physical well-being.

The editorial presents Khan and Bushra Bibi’s treatment as part of a wider problem. It argues that Pakistani prisoners often suffer beyond what is just or lawful, while abuses are rarely remedied. The penal system, it says, needs more than occasional court interventions and should be rebuilt as an instrument of justice rather than a means of inflicting pain.

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A prisoner’s right to life, dignity and humane treatment are not extinguished at the prison gate.