Court asks K-P govt how death row prisoner can study law

IG Prisons, govt given a week to submit replies

PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court has asked the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa government and the Inspector General of Prisons to explain how can a prisoner on death row pursue a professional degree in law.

A two-judge bench of the Peshawar High Court (PHC), comprising Justice Roohul Amin and Justice Younas Thaheem, on Wednesday heard a writ petition filed by Sajjad Ahmad, through his lawyer Khurshid Khan.

Khurshid argued that Ahmad had already completed double masters in Political Science and English Literature as a private student during his internment at the Haripur Central Jail.

He added that now Ahmad wanted to pursue LLB, a professional degree. However, regulations stipulate that he cannot enrol in the programme as a private student — which would allow him to study for the degree from his prison cell.

Thus, Khurshid said, he had requested the government and jail officials to make appropriate arrangements so that he could attend classes.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 18^th, 2018.