Adiala Jail superintendent apologises in contempt plea moved by Pak's former premier Imran Khan

Islamabad, Nov 8 (PTI) The top jail official of Adiala jail has apologised to a special court for refusing to allow jailed former Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan to talk to his sons despite a court order.
    Khan's sons - Sulaiman Khan and Qasim Khan - live in the UK with his ex-wife Jemima whom he divorced in 2004.
    Special Court Judge Abual Hasnat Zulqarnain on Monday issued notices to the Adiala Jail superintendent for failing to arrange a phone call between Khan and his sons despite a court order.
    In his reply to the court, the senior jail official on Tuesday apologised for not letting the deposed premier talk to his sons, the Express Tribune newspaper reported on Wednesday.
    In his response, the superintendent said that on October 18, special measures were taken to enable the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf chairman to talk to his children, but there is no permanent facility to make WhatsApp calls to international numbers in prison, the paper said.
    He said that the call can be directed through the prison PCO which other prisoners use to talk to family and lawyers.
    However, the IG Prisons issued a letter regarding the protocol for those accused in the Official Secrets Act, and it states that the official PCO facility is not available to those accused under the act, the paper reported.
    The superintendent requested the court to dismiss the contempt case against him as he wasn’t violating a court order.
    Khan, 71, has been in the Adiala Jail, Rawalpindi after he was shifted there on September 26 from the District Jail Attock where he was taken after arrest on August 5 following conviction in the Toshakhana case.
    Later, his sentence was suspended by the Islamabad High Court, but then, he was arrested in the cipher case and remained in the Attock jail on judicial remand.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)