RAWALPINDI   -   The Punjab government has banned all meetings with prisoners inside Rawalpindi’s Adiala Jail, the facility where Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder and former prime minister Imran Khan is imprisoned, reported a private TV channel on Monday. The ban, imposed due to security reasons, will remain in place till October 18. The sources added that Khan will not be allowed to meet party leaders, lawyers and family during this time. Prison sources attribute the prohibition on meetings — including those involving common prisoners — to security concerns. This measure aims to bolster the facility’s security in light of the upcoming Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit scheduled in neighboring Islamabad from October 15 to 16. Meanwhile, the provincial government has sent a letter to Rawalpindi’s district administration and the jail authorities which also provides directions for additional security measures to be taken by the latter. The letter, issued by the Punjab Home Department, attributes the security concerns to the threat alert issued by the CTD on October 6 and calls for strict security arrangements and preventive measures to deal with any untoward incident.

The SCO summit holds key significance as it will also be attended by India’s Minister of External Affairs Subrahmanyam Jaishankar — the first visit by an Indian foreign minister to Pakistan in nearly a decade.

The federal government has called in the Pakistan Army as part of its comprehensive security plan with troops’ deployment approved under Article 245 of the Constitution from October 15 to 17.

This is not the first time that the authorities have barred meetings inside the Adiala facility previously, such a ban was imposed for two weeks in March due to security concerns.

The compound has housed Khan for more than a year as the politician remained embroiled in multiple cases.

Earlier this year, the Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) claimed to have arrested three terrorists and recovered a map of the jail facility, a hand grenade and Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) from their possession.

The terrorists, as per Rawalpindi City Police Officer (CPO) Khalid Hamdani, hailed from Afghanistan.

Prior to that, in November 2023, police had found a suspicious bag laden with an explosive device near Adiala Road in Gorakhpur — located just one kilometre away from the facility.