Fact check: Imran has not requested better prison facilities from President Zardari, PM Shehbaz

Certain news outlets reported on Saturday that PTI founder Imran Khan and his party have urged President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to provide better prison facilities at Adiala Jail in a letter through his counsel, Advocate Azhar Siddique. However, the former prime minister or his party have made no such request.

Imran is currently serving out his sentence in the Iddat case at Adiala Jail. His sentences in the two Toshakhana cases were suspended while he was acquitted by the Islamabad High Court in the cipher case.

In a May 30 Supreme Court hearing, Imran had said he was in solitary confinement where he had no access to any material, legal assistance or even a library.

Disputing the statements about his living conditions at Adiala Jail, the federal government on June 6 submitted a report to the Supreme Court with pictures and details of the facilities and arrangements provided to him. The PTI had criticised the state of Imran’s prison room.

Express Tribune published a report today titled, “Imran Khan seeks better jail conditions in letter to President Zardari and PM Shehbaz”.

The intro of the news report reads: “Imran Khan the incarcerated founding leader of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has urged President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to ensure proper jail facilities through a letter penned by his counsel, Azhar Siddique.”

Similarly, news outlet Capital TV also shared a video clip today on social media platform X with the caption: “PTI wrote letter to President and Prime Minister to provide facilities to Imran Khan in jail”.

However, perusing the July 5 letter, a copy of which is available with Dawn.comshowed that it was written by Advocate Siddique, chairman of the Judicial Activism Panel (JAP), a self-styled public interest forum based in Lahore.

Investigating the letter’s content showed nowhere that it was written by or on the request or instructions of the PTI founder.

The letter called for a report on Imran’s living conditions, a list of individuals who met Imran, information on whether he was placed in solitary confinement as well as for him to be provided all those facilities he was entitled to under the law.

Contacted for comment on the matter by Dawn.comAdvocate Siddique rubbished the impression that Imran had ordered the letter to be written or requested better prison facilities for himself.

“He makes no such requests,” Siddique said of the PTI founder. He said the JAP initiated the writing and sending of the letter due to it being a “human rights organisation”. He reiterated that Imran had not requested for the letter to be written or had any role in it.

Furthermore, neither Imran’s nor the PTI’s official X accounts shared links to the letter or its text which they would be expected to have done if it was penned by them or on their behalf.

Therefore, Dawn.com has determined that the reports of Imran or the PTI sending the letter to state functionaries seeking an upgrade in his prison facilities are untrue and inaccurate. As confirmed by Advocate Siddique himself, Imran made no such request or had anything to do with the letter, which was initiated on its own by JAP.

Additional reporting by Nadir Guramani.