Court Rejects Ex Pak PM Imran Khan's Petition For Weekly WhatsApp Call With Sons

A Rawalpindi court on Monday rejected Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder and former Prime Minister Imran Khan's plea for a weekly WhatsApp call with his sons, ARY News reported.

Notably, Imran Khan had filed a petition and sought permission to have a conversation with his sons via WhatsApp once a week.

However, the jail administration asserted that there is no legal provision that allow prisoners to communicate with their relatives through WhatsApp. The court had earlier said that Imran be allowed to talk with his children twice a month, who currently reside in the UK with their mother Jemima Khan, according to ARY News.

Earlier, the former Pakistan Prime Minister had submitted an application to Rawalpindi Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) after he was denied a telephonic conversation with his sons from Adiala Jail. In the petition, the PTI founder had argued that he has been denied to speak with his sons despite being allowed to do so by law.

The ATC, presided over by Judge Malik Aijaz Asif, had sought a response from the jail administration, ARY News reported.

Meanwhile, an anti-terrorism court, a day earlier, reserved its decision on Imran Khan's interim bail requests in cases associated with the May 9 incidents in 2023, including the Jinnah House and two other cases, Pakistan-based The Express Tribune reported.

During the hearing on Saturday, Imran lawyer, Barrister Salman Safdar, argued that the PTI founder was being targeted for political reasons.

"In my entire career, I have never seen so many cases against a single individual. Those who were actually inciting against institutions at the scene were not arrested," Safdar alleged."How could a case be filed against him when he was in custody at the time of the crime?" PTI chief's lawyer questioned.

In response, the government's lawyer argued that according to a special branch report, Imran Khan had asked his followers to target civil and military installations if he got arrested.The prosecutor said, "The directive to attack military installations across Pakistan resulted in the events that transpired." After hearing arguments from both sides, the court reserved its verdict on the PTI founder's interim bail requests, The Express Tribune reported.

On May 9 last year, violent clashes broke out across Pakistan after former prime minister Imran Khan was arrested. The protests were held in remote and major cities as the party workers were agitated due to Mr Khan's arrest, with Balochistan, Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and Islamabad summoning the armed forces to ensure law and order, ARY News reported.

Army installations, including the Corps Commander's house in Lahore, had come under attack during the protests by PTI workers. Notably, the PTI founder was named as the main accused in all the May 9 riots cases.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)