PHC issues notices in Indian prisoner’s case

Authorities at the prison have confined Ansari at a vacant death cell, divisional bench was informed

PESHAWAR:

The Peshawar High Court issued on Tuesday notices to the defence secretary, asking him to file a reply to a petition regarding the provision of facilities to an Indian national Nihal Ansari at the Central Prison Peshawar.

Hearing a petition filed by Qazi Muhammad Anwar advocate, a divisional bench, headed by Justice Nisar Hussain, was informed that the authorities at the prison have confined Ansari at a vacant death cell. Anwar advocate argued that Nihal had been sentenced to only three years of rigorous imprisonment.

He said that since the petitioner was undergoing solitary confinement, he should either be kept in a side room of the jail hospital or be put with two or more prisoners in a wider space if available. He also prayed to direct the foreign ministry to grant a visit visa to Peshawar to his mother and return the items confiscated from his possession at the time of the arrest.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 23^rd, 2016.