Observes Punjab government failed to respond to the petition for nearly three months.

ISLAMABAD  -  The Islamabad High Court (IHC) ruled in favour of a petition challenging Rule 265 of the Pakistan Prison Rules, which bans political discussions by prisoners during meetings with visitors. The verdict was issued by Justice Sardar Ejaz Ishaq Khan after arguments were presented by both sides.

The petition was filed by PTI leader Sher Afzal Marwat, who argued that the rule, which restricts prisoners from discussing political matters and limits letters to private affairs, infringes upon basic rights. Justice Ishaq declared the relevant language in Rule 265 as “ultra vires,” meaning it exceeds the lawful powers granted by the Prisons Act, 1894.

In his written order, Justice Ishaq stated that the law provides no authority for such a blanket restriction on prisoners’ conversations. The judgment emphasized that the rationale for this rule — namely, prison discipline concerns — was unconvincing and lacked a legal basis. The court noted that arguments grounded in “national security” are often misused to justify repressive measures and dismissed the respondents’ stance as inadequate.

The court further observed that the Punjab Government failed to respond to the petition for nearly three months, presenting only technical objections regarding procedural matters. Justice Ishaq criticized this lack of defence and underscored that any restrictions on prisoners’ discussions must be explicitly authorized by legislation. In concluding, the judgment maintained that Rule 265’s ban on political discussions was invalid under the Prisons Act, which lacks provisions allowing such limitations.

The Rule 265 says, “Superior class prisoners shall be allowed to write one letter and have one interview weekly. Both the letter and interview are interchangeable. On urgent occasions such as death or serious illness in a prisoner’s family, this rule may be relaxed at the discretion of the Superintendent. The number of persons who may visit a prisoner at any given time should be limited to six. The discussion of political matters shall not be allowed at these interviews. The subject matter of all letters shall be strictly limited to private affairs and shall not contain any reference to prison administration and discipline, other prisoners or politics. Publications of matters discussed at interview or of the substance of letters received from prisoners shall entail the withdrawal or curtailment of this privilege.”