A larger bench of the Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Thursday suspended a single bench verdict that had struck down a clause in the Punjab Prison Rules barring inmates from discussing matters related to politics or prison administration and discipline.
Earlier this year, Justice Sardar Ijaz Ishaq Khan had ruled Rule 265 of the Punjab Prison Rules unconstitutional, declaring it in violation of the right to freedom of expression guaranteed under the Constitution. The Punjab government had subsequently challenged the verdict through an intra-court appeal, and urged the court to restore the rule until a final decision.
The larger bench accepted the appeal and suspended the earlier judgment.
Rule 265 of the Prison Rules allows “superior class” prisoners to write one letter and have one interview weekly, and limits the number of persons who may visit them at any given time to six. It forbids the discussion of political matters during these interactions and requires all letters to be “strictly limited” to private affairs. It states that any publication of matters discussed during the meetings or conveyed through letters can lead to the withdrawal or curtailment of this privilege.