 "PTI chief Imran Khan at a Lahore court, on Friday pti/ap")
A special court on Thursday granted permission to Pakistan's embattled former prime minister Imran Khan - currently held at Attock Jail - to speak to his sons.
Khan, 70, had filed a petition before Judge Abual Hasnat Zulqarnain, seeking permission to speak to his sons - Suleman Khan and Qasim Khan - on the phone.
Judge Zulqarnain approved the plea and instructed the prison authorities to facilitate the telephonic conversation between the applicant and his sons in accordance with the law, the Dawn newspaper reported.
"Instant application is allowed. Superintendent District Jail Attock is directed to make necessary arrangements for phone calls between the accused and his sons in accordance with jail rules and manual, the judge said in his brief order.
The development comes a day after Judge Zulqarnain on Wednesday extended Khan's judicial remand till September 13 in a case related to the alleged disclosure of state secrets, dashing the former prime minister's hopes of quick release from jail despite being granted bail a day earlier in a corruption case.
Earlier in the day, the Islamabad High Court (IHC) sought responses from the Law Ministry and other respondents on Khan's plea against the recent decision to move the cipher case hearing from Islamabad to Attock Jail.
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IHC Chief Justice Aamer Farooq, who presided over the hearing, asked: Was the court venue shifted?
Khan's lawyer answered that the court designated to hear cases filed under the Secrets Act was that of a magistrate.
"Authorising an anti-terrorism court judge to hear cases filed under the Official Secrets Act is wrong, Khan's counsel asserted.
He urged the court to issue notices to the respondents seeking their response on the matter, which the chief justice allowed.
He requested the court to fix the next hearing for the coming week as it was an urgent matter, to which Justice Farooq agreed and adjourned the hearing till the next week.
The date for the next hearing has yet to be finalised.
The hearing of the case on Wednesday took place at Attock District Jail following approval by the Law Ministry amid security concerns expressed by the Interior Ministry.
Authorities decided on Tuesday to hold the hearing of the case inside the Attock jail where Khan has been kept since August 5 after his conviction in the Toshakhana corruption case.
(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
