ATC rejects Khadija’s request for family visit

PTI activist’s family members worried after reports of her deteriorating health in jail

ISLAMABAD/LAHORE:

An anti-terrorism court (ATC) in Islamabad has dismissed the request of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) activist and renowned fashion designer Khadija Shah for a medical examination and a meeting with her family.

Judge Abher Gul Khan rejected Khadija’s plea filed by her lawyer Samir Khosa.

The PTI activist was arrested on the charges of incitement to arson during the May 9 riots following PTI Chairman Imran Khan’s arrest.

Khadija’s counsel had appealed to the court to direct the jail authorities to submit her medical report and give permission for meeting her family members in jail.

In the petition, her counsel had also stated that Khadija’s family was worried due to reports of her deteriorating health. After she was arrested, her family members had not been allowed to meet her, the petition stated.

Read Fashion designer Khadija Shah’s health ‘deteriorates’ in jail

On Sunday, reports circulated in the media about Khadija Shah's deteriorating health in prison. According to sources inside the jail, the PTI activist and fashion designer has been suffering from stomach issues for the last two days.

The daughter of former finance minister Salman Shah, Khadija Shah is a leading suspect among those leading the May 9 attack on the Jinnah House, which is currently used as the residence of the Lahore Corps Commander, in the wake of the PTI chief's arrest in Islamabad.

Khadija, who is also the daughter-in-law of former army chief Gen (retd) Asif Nawaz Janjua, had turned herself in at Lahore’s Iqbal Town police station on May 23 and an anti-terrorism court (ATC) had remanded her to a seven-day judicial custody the next day, directing the police to present her in court after an identification parade on May 30.

‘No question of mistreatment’

Lahore SSP Investigation Anoosh Masood claimed that there was no question of mistreatment of women prisoners belonging to the PTI.

Speaking at a news conference in Lahore, SSP Anoosh said she and Lahore Deputy Commissioner Rafia Haider paid a visit to the Kot Lakhpat Jail.

“We held separate meetings with everyone and asked them [about any mistreatment],” she told reporters after her visit. “I also met Khadija Shah and asked her how she is being treated in jail.”

The senior police officer claimed that every prisoner was being provided medicines, including all those suffering from breathing issues and skin diseases. "A medical officer is present at all times. I would like to categorically state that the jail only has female staff, and no men are allowed inside.”