Lawyers for former prime minister Imran Khan spent hours with him at Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi on Wednesday, and one of them, Sardar Latif Khosa, said the proposed 28th Constitutional Amendment came up during their conversation, although he did not reveal what was said about it.

Khosa and fellow lawyer Salman Safdar met Imran and his wife, Bushra Bibi, after the Islamabad High Court directed the authorities to help the lawyers gain access to the couple. Speaking to reporters afterwards, Khosa said the talks were friendly and focused mainly on legal matters, including pending cases and appeals, and that Imran appeared alert and in good spirits, although he continued to complain about his eyesight and blood pressure.

Accounts of the length of the meeting differ. Khosa said the two lawyers spent roughly two hours with the couple in the prison conference room, while other accounts put the total time inside the jail at about four hours. According to a statement Safdar posted on X, the authorities allowed him to sit with Khan and Bushra Bibi between 4pm and 7pm. The meeting had been scheduled for 3pm and was initially expected to last about an hour.

How the court order opened the way to the visit

The meeting followed instructions the Islamabad High Court issued on Tuesday while hearing appeals by Imran and Bushra against their convictions in the £190 million Al-Qadir Trust case. A division bench led by Chief Justice Sardar Muhammad Sarfraz Dogar, with Justice Muhammad Asif, was handling the appeals, and the lawyers raised concerns about access to their clients, their medical conditions and preparations for the cases.

During the hearing, Safdar told the court that he had last met Imran seven months earlier and Bushra 11 months earlier, and argued that such limited access made it hard to take instructions and prepare a proper defence. Khosa told the bench he had repeatedly asked for permission to see Imran and promised the court he would not seek another adjournment if access were arranged. The court then told the authorities to facilitate the visits, ordered that case paper books be given to the defence, and adjourned the appeals for 10 days, with the lawyers to start their arguments at the next hearing.

Saad Rafique links the meetings to the amendment debate

On Thursday, PML-N leader Saad Rafique said the Adiala meetings could be linked to the 28th Constitutional Amendment, the creation of new provinces and politics in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. He welcomed the meetings, but there has been no official confirmation that the government is preparing a 28th Constitutional Amendment.

Rafique suggested the government might seek PTI support for a two-thirds majority after the PPP refused to back a proposal on dividing Sindh. He also speculated that a deal could end governor’s rule in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in exchange for PTI counterterrorism cooperation and a pledge not to march on Islamabad again. Those suggestions were his own reading of events, not confirmed government positions.

A proposal to redraw Pakistan’s map into 12 provinces is reported to be under consideration, with a nationwide referendum envisaged ahead of a possible 28th Amendment. Under the arrangement as reported, Punjab could be divided into four provinces, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan into three each and Sindh into two. The proposal remains at the consideration stage, with no final decision taken on boundaries, administrative structures or the constitutional process, and the amendment could be taken up in the first half of 2027.

Health concerns raised in court

The former prime minister’s health was also raised during Tuesday’s proceedings. Safdar told the court that Imran’s eyesight had improved but his blood pressure remained uncontrolled, and that Imran was worried persistently high blood pressure could raise the risk of a brain haemorrhage. Safdar also raised concerns about Bushra’s eyesight, saying she had undergone an operation about six months earlier and was due for another procedure on November 15.

Safdar asked the court to set up a medical board and order that her full medical records from Adiala Jail be produced. If the bench was not prepared to grant bail, he asked it to consider temporary release for four to six weeks so she could receive treatment. The Islamabad advocate general told the court that Bushra was being treated in prison and had been given the medical facilities she required, and said a medical board had examined her on November 8.

The meeting followed Imran’s overnight trip to the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences for an eye injection, after which the hospital said he was clinically stable. PTI chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan has demanded he be moved to Shifa International Hospital for full examinations, and the party continues to press for greater transparency over his medical care.