PTI founder's plea for WhatsApp call with sons rejected

RAWALPINDI: A Rawalpindi court has rejected Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder and former prime minister Imran Khan’s plea for weekly WhatsApp call with his sons, ARY News reported.

As per details, Imran Khan had filed a petition seeking permission to speak with his sons via WhatsApp once a week.

However, the jail administration responded that there is no legal provision for allowing prisoners to communicate with their relatives via WhatsApp.

The court had previously ruled that Khan be allowed to speak with his children twice a month, who currently reside in the UK with their mother Jemima Khan.

Earlier, PTI founder submitted an application to Rawalpindi Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) after being denied a telephonic conversation with his sons from the Adiala Jail.

In the petition, Khan argued that he has been denied the opportunity to speak with his sons despite being allowed to do so by law.

The ATC, presided over by Judge Malik Aijaz Asif, sought a response from the jail administration in this regard.

The deposed prime minister has been in jail since last August and was convicted in some cases ahead of a national election in February.

In recent months, courts have suspended Khan’s jail sentences in two cases about the illegal acquisition and sale of state gifts, and also overturned his conviction on charges of leaking state secrets.

However, he has remained in prison due to a conviction in another case in which a trial court ruled that his 2018 marriage was unlawful. Khan also faces a trial under anti-terrorism charges in connection with violence in May last year.