FCC issues notice to AG on Adiala inmates’ pleas seeking Imran-like medical facilities

• Three Adiala inmates seek private hospital treatment like Imran.
• Justice Aamir Farooq questions need for private hospital treatment.
• FCC says case involves interpretation of law and adjourns hearing.
  

ISLAMABAD: The Federal Constitutional Court on Monday issued notices to the Attorney General for Pakistan and other parties on appeals filed by three inmates of Adiala jail seeking treatment at private hospitals similar to the facilities granted to jailed PTI founding chairman Imran Khan.

A three-member FCC bench, headed by Chief Justice Aminuddin Khan and comprising Justice Aamir Farooq and Justice Ali Baqar Najafi, heard three separate petitions filed against the decision of the Islamabad High Court (IHC).

A single-member IHC bench had dismissed their petitions on August 31. The high court held that a prisoner had no legal right to be transferred to a private hospital of his choice.

During today’s hearing, Justice Farooq asked why the prisoners should be treated at private hospitals.

He also asked why treatment could not be provided at the Polyclinic or Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims) hospitals.

Justice Najafi questioned the implementation of the jail manual. “What is the benefit of the jail manual if they can do this?” he remarked.

“If the jail manual is not to be followed, then what is the benefit of the jail manual?” he remarked.

The court observed that the matter involved interpreting the law and adjourned the hearing until Tuesday.

The pleas

Following the IHC verdict, three inmates, Muhammad Ilyas Khan, Mohammad Ismail Hussain and Owais Altaf had approached the FCC praying for setting aside the decision dismissing their medical and communication facilities pleas.

In their constitutional petition, the prisoners referred to Article 25 of the Constitution, arguing that all citizens are equal before the law. They requested the court to end what they described as discriminatory treatment and provide them with medical facilities equal to those available to the PTI founder.

The petitioners referred to the Supreme Court’s August 18 order and requested that they also be transferred to the Shifa International Hospital for medical treatment.

They sought permission to communicate via WhatsApp with individuals living abroad, similar to the communication facilities available to Imran Khan.

The top court on August 18 ordered the transfer of the former prime minister to Shifa International Hospital from Adiala jail.

However, citing security concerns, authorities took the deposed premier to the government-run Pims under tight security, just moments before the 48-hour deadline set by the top court expired.

Imran, the cricketer-turned-politician, aged 73, has been in jail in Rawalpindi since August 2023, convicted in a string of cases that he and his party maintain were “politically driven” following his ouster in 2022.