A Pakistan High Court on Tuesday (September 1, 2026) directed jail authorities to ensure that former prime minister Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi are not kept in solitary confinement.

The 73-year-old cricketer-turned-politician and his wife are currently detained at Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi, serving lengthy prison sentences in corruption and related cases.

Islamabad High Court (IHC) Justice Khadim Hussain Soomro announced the verdict while holding the petitions challenging the alleged solitary confinement of Khan and Bibi as maintainable.

The court also directed that Khan’s family members be allowed to meet him as permitted under jail rules and ordered authorities to make arrangements for telephone conversations between him and his sons.

The IHC directed the Adiala jail authorities to provide him with newspapers and books daily and ensure that he receives medical facilities in accordance with jail rules.

The Adiala jail superintendent was directed to ensure implementation of the court’s directions and submit a compliance report within 15 days.

Justice Soomro had earlier reserved the verdict on August 6 on petitions, filed separately by Khan’s sister Aleema Khanum and Bibi’s daughter Mubashra Khawar Maneka, challenging their alleged solitary confinement.

The former Pakistan PM has remained in prison since August 2023 following convictions that he and his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party have described as politically motivated. His supporters and relatives have repeatedly alleged that authorities have restricted his access to family members and adequate medical care. The government has rejected such allegations.

Bibi was first jailed on January 31, 2024, after her conviction in a corruption-related case, and was released on bail on October 24 that year after nearly nine months in prison.

She was re-arrested on January 17, 2025, following her conviction in another corruption-related case and remains detained at Adiala Jail, having since received additional sentences in corruption-related cases.

Separately, the Supreme Court on Monday (August 31, 2026) rejected a request by Imran Khan’s sister Uzma Khan for an early hearing of a contempt petition against government officials over alleged non-compliance with its August 18 order directing the former prime minister’s transfer to a private hospital, Dawn News reported.

Ms. Uzma filed the request after the Supreme Court fixed September 16 for hearing her earlier contempt plea.

The Supreme Court had on August 18 ordered the government to shift Khan to the private-run Shifa International Hospital following months of concerns raised by his family and supporters over his health, particularly an eye condition diagnosed earlier this year.

However, on the night of August 20-21, Khan was admitted to the state-run Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) for a medical procedure and diagnostic examinations instead of Shifa Hospital. He was subsequently taken back to Adiala Jail.

Uzma’s petition argued that the decision violated the Supreme Court’s order, which directed that Khan remain admitted at the Islamabad hospital until the next hearing on September 16.

The government defended its decision to take him to PIMS, citing security concerns.

The contempt petition has been fixed for hearing on September 16 before a three-member bench comprising Justices Shahid Waheed, Naeem Akhtar Afghan and Ishtiaq Ibrahim. The same bench is also scheduled to hear pending cases concerning Khan’s health and family meetings.

The Supreme Court on Monday (August 31, 2026) rejected the request for an early hearing under its case-fixation policy, noting that 94 other criminal original petitions in the same category were pending before the Supreme Court, Dawn News reported.

Pakistan’s former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s sister moved the Islamabad High Court, challenging his “prolonged solitary confinement” at Adiala Jail, calling it illegal and a violation of fundamental rights, according to a media report on Friday (May 15, 2026).

Aleema Khan filed the writ petition in the high court on Thursday (May 14, 2026), the Dawn newspaper reported.

The petitioner argued that no court had sentenced the 74-year-old Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder to solitary confinement in either the Al-Qadir Trust case or the Toshakhana-II case.

It is alleged that jail authorities had kept him in isolation for approximately 22 hours daily over the last six months without any legal sanction.

Citing the Pakistan Penal Code and the Pakistan Prisons Rules, the petition stated that solitary confinement could only be awarded by a court and could not exceed 14 days at a time.

The petition termed the “prolonged isolation” as “patently illegal, devoid of lawful authority, and amounting to inhuman and degrading treatment”.

The petition further alleged that Mr. Khan had lost 85% of the vision in his right eye due to an ailment for which he had been taken to PIMS Hospital on four occasions.

However, it added that neither family members nor his legal counsel had been informed about the nature of his disease or the treatment being administered.

“Despite repeated injections, there has been no improvement in his eyesight, and he has not been formally admitted to any hospital for proper diagnosis,” the petition stated.

According to the petition, Mr. Khan informed his counsel during court-mandated meetings that his wife, Bushra Bibi, was also being kept in solitary confinement for 24 hours a day at the same jail.

The petition requested the court to declare “the solitary confinement and incommunicado detention” of the PTI founder “illegal, unlawful, without lawful authority”.

Meanwhile, PTI leaders were once again denied a meeting with Mr. Khan on Thursday (May 14, 2026), as they called for the implementation of the court’s decision allowing the huddles, the Dawn report said.

The IHC has allowed Mr. Khan to hold twice-weekly meetings, on Tuesdays and Thursdays, with his family, lawyers and other associates.

Despite the order, the former premier has been restricted from meeting visitors for several months.

The party secretary general had submitted a list of six party leaders to the jail authorities, in line with court orders, for a meeting on Thursday (May 14, 2026).

All party leaders included in the list arrived at Adiala jail on Thursday (May 14, 2026) for a meeting with the PTI founder but were not allowed to meet him, the report said.