Bail plea rejection

On February 25, former prime minister Nawaz Sharif’s bail plea to the Islamabad High Court on grounds of medical illness was rejected. The plea claimed Sharif suffers from several medical issues and requires treatment outside the prison or beyond the walls of Jinnah Hospital, where he is currently. While we sympathise with the illnesses, there is often a pattern of behaviour and actions taken when a VIP or politician is sent to prison; in December, Shehbaz Sharif made similar claims about his ill-health. The patterns hint at mockery of court laws but we leave judgment to the honourable court as this is an ongoing case.

As accountability charges are served, such challenges by parties are distracting. Consequences should be allowed to take place for falsifying medical reports or exaggerating medical conditions to restore court honour and set precedents for the rest of the country. To draw sudden attention to medical ailments makes for a tenuous argument for bail. Ironically, if the corruption case for which the former premier is being held never occurred, the money looted could have been applied to improving systems in healthcare so that all patients, regardless of socioeconomic status, could seek quality medical care, much as what PM Imran Khan alluded to in a recent speech. Allowing Mr Sharif to choose a doctor of his liking would probably mean he requested to fly abroad for treatment — at that, a treatment or facility already available within the country.

The al Azizia Steel Mills Company and Hill Metal Establishment corruption for which Mr Sharif is currently serving a seven-year sentence needs to be sought to the end, with potential consequences for abusing or manipulating laws and their provisions.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 26^th, 2019.

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