FCC seeks AGP assistance in Adiala inmates' private treatment pleas

The Federal Constitutional Court (FCC) on Monday issued notices to the attorney general of Pakistan and other parties for assistance in petitions seeking medical facilities for prisoners on the same basis as those provided to Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan. A three-member bench, headed by Chief Justice Aminuddin Khan, heard appeals filed by three prisoners seeking treatment at private hospitals, citing the facilities provided to the former prime minister. The court observed that Rule 197 of the jail manual contained no ambiguity and stressed that any order regarding prisoners’ treatment must be made in accordance with the law. It further said all prisoners should be treated equally, noting that under Rule 197, the government was responsible for bearing the expenses of a prisoner’s treatment. Justice Amir Farooq observed that treatment at a private hospital was contrary to the jail manual and questioned why prisoners could not instead be treated at PIMS or Polyclinic. Justice Ali Baqar Najafi also questioned the purpose of the jail manual if its provisions were not followed. “The jail manual is absolutely clear. There should be no unequal treatment,” he said. Also Read: FCC to hear Adiala inmates' private treatment pleas on 14th A lawyer representing one of the prisoners told the court that his client had been taken to hospital eight times in two months. He argued that the prisoner needed to be shifted to a private hospital for better treatment and said hospital reports supported his case. During the hearing, the lawyer referred to a Supreme Court (SC) case concerning Imran. “If that is the case, you should have filed a petition in the Supreme Court,” Chief Justice Khan said, asking why the lawyer had not become a party to those proceedings. The lawyer replied that the case had been filed through a constitutional petition and that an appeal against such a petition could be heard by the FCC. Justice Najafi said the lawyer was relying on the jail manual in his arguments and questioned why its provisions should not be followed. “If the jail manual is not to be followed, then what is its purpose?” he asked. The judge said the lawyer’s position was that there should be no discrimination and that different procedures could not be adopted for different prisoners. The court admitted the case for preliminary hearing and issued notices to the attorney general and other parties by the following day. The hearing was adjourned until Tuesday. Read More: Imran-like facilities: prisoners move FCC The SC on August 18 ordered that Imran be taken to Islamabad's Shifa International Hospital within two days for medical examination and treatment, directing the government to constitute a specialised medical board for his care. The three-member bench also directed the government and relevant officers to facilitate meetings between Imran and his family members once a week along with facilitating telephone conversations between him and his sons twice a week. In the wake of the SC order, three inmates at Adiala Jail- Owais Altaf, Ilyas Khan and Mohammad Ismail - approached the Islamabad High Court (IHC), seeking treatment at private hospitals and permission to speak to their families abroad via WhatsApp. The IHC on August 31 dismissed the petitions, ruling that the prisoners could not claim treatment at a private hospital as a fundamental right without a medical board determining that the required treatment was unavailable either at the jail hospital or at a government hospital. The IHC noted that the SC's August 18 directions were interim in nature and that the case cited by the petitioners was still pending before the apex court. "An interim order cannot be treated as a final judgment," the court observed. The inmates later approached the FCC, seeking annulment of the IHC decision and requested the court to direct the authorities to provide them with the same medical facilities available to the PTI founder. They argued that Article 25 of the Constitution guaranteed equal treatment to all citizens, while an order of the SC in the matter remained in force. According to the petitions, the prisoners also sought directions to allow them to speak to people abroad through WhatsApp, on the same basis as the facility provided to Imran in light of the SC's order.

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