Federal Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi has said construction of the Islamabad Model Jail is complete and the facility will open soon. The Islamabad Model Jail transfer of prisoners will begin in phases after the prime minister inaugurates the new prison, he said.
Naqvi visited the facility on Tuesday and told reporters he had taken a special interest in the project, and that inauguration and transfer arrangements would now proceed. Asked whether Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf founder Imran Khan would move to the new jail, Naqvi did not name any individual prisoner. He said prisoners belonging to Islamabad would be shifted to the new facility.
Islamabad Model Jail transfer: what Naqvi announced
Naqvi said the new jail had been equipped with modern amenities and would run as a model prison. It would become operational after the prime minister’s inauguration, and the process of moving prisoners from Islamabad would then begin.
Reports of his remarks differed slightly on numbers. MM News reported that the facility could accommodate between 3,000 and 4,000 inmates. The Destination reported that around 3,500 prisoners from Islamabad would be shifted from Adiala Jail, with 1,500 in the initial phase. These are reported figures, not a single confirmed official count.
What this means for Imran Khan
The careful point is the difference between a general transfer plan and an individual transfer order. Naqvi’s words covered prisoners from Islamabad as a group. He did not announce a date or an order for any one prisoner.
Information Minister Attaullah Tarar went further on Tuesday evening, telling Samaa TV’s Nadeem Malik Live that all prisoners would be transferred, including Imran Khan, with the Islamabad administration to decide on transfers once the jail became fully operational.
Tarar’s statement is a minister’s statement on television, not a transfer order. No date for Imran Khan’s move was announced by either minister on Tuesday.
What was already reported about the jail
The Tribune reported on October 25 that phase one in Sector H-16 was complete, with inauguration preparations set for November 1 to 10, and 1,500 prisoners, including Imran Khan, expected to shift from Adiala Jail in the initial phase.
The jail covers 90 acres in Sector H-16. Phase one has three barracks, a 35-bed hospital, a mosque and a kitchen; later phases add a sports ground, a library, and separate units for women and children. The cost rose from an initial Rs3.5 billion to over Rs20 billion.
Phase one covers undertrial prisoners only, the report said; convicted prisoners follow in 2027, possibly in February. Jail sources put Imran Khan’s possible move between November 20 and 30. That window is unconfirmed.
Feature Pakistan’s earlier coverage of the jail
Feature Pakistan has followed this project through its delays: phase one ready after a decade of delays, reported on October 12 in Islamabad Model Jail Phase One Ready After a Decade of Delays; inauguration expected soon, reported on October 19 in Islamabad Model Jail Inauguration Soon; and no road access as the opening neared, reported on October 20 in New Islamabad jail has no road as opening nears, NHA asked for temporary link. Tuesday’s announcement moves the story from readiness and access problems to completion and a transfer plan, but it does not settle the date on which any individual prisoner will move.
What happens next
Three steps now matter: the prime minister’s inauguration, the start of phased transfers, and the administration’s decision on their timing and order, which Tarar said would follow once the jail became fully operational. Until then, the firm facts are that construction is complete, the inauguration comes soon, and prisoners from Islamabad will move in phases.
Source: Dunya News, “Interior Minister Naqvi says Islamabad Model Jail completed, opening soon”, 27 October 2026, https://dunyanews.tv/en/Pakistan/979895-interior-minister-naqvi-says-islamabad-model-jail-completed-opening-s; MM News, “Will Imran Khan Be Transferred to Islamabad’s New Model Prison? Mohsin Naqvi Responds”, 27 October 2026, https://mmnews.tv/will-imran-khan-be-transferred-to-islamabads-new-model-prison-mohsin-naqvi-responds/; Samaa TV, “Tarar says Imran among prisoners to be moved to new model jail”, 27 October 2026, https://www.samaa.tv/2087359211-tarar-says-imran-among-prisoners-to-be-moved-to-new-model-jail; The Express Tribune, “Imran to be moved to Islamabad jail”, 25 October 2026, https://tribune.com.pk/story/2636753/imran-to-be-moved-to-islamabad-jail
Frequently asked questions
Is the Islamabad Model Jail complete?
Naqvi said on Tuesday, October 27, that construction is complete and the facility will be inaugurated soon.
