Court allows Qureshi’s transfer to PIMS

A special court on Thursday allowed Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Vice Chairman Shah Mahmood Qureshi’s transfer to a hospital on the request of prison authorities after his condition reportedly deteriorated in Adiala Jail.

The permission was granted by special court Judge Abul Hasnat Zulqarnain. The jail authorities informed the judge that the PTI leader – who is a co-accused in the cipher case along with party Chairman Imran Khan – should be allowed to move to a hospital as per doctor's recommendation.

However, Qureshi’s lawyer said that his client still remained in the jail. The court’s permission was obtained as a precautionary measure, lawyer Taimur Malik said, adding that the he would be shifted to the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims) Hospital if his condition worsened.

Qureshi suffers from gallstone problem. Dr Tariq Abdullah, an associate professor at the Pims Hospital Surgical Department also examined him in the prison. Malik said that Qureshi was ill but he did not need immediate hospitalisation.

The cipher case pertains to a document waved by Imran, then the prime minister, at a public rally in March last year, terming it evidence of a foreign conspiracy behind the no-confidence motion he faced at that time. The motion was carried a few weeks later and Imran’s government ended.

Qureshi was the foreign minister at that time. and he also spoke at the rally where Imran had waved the document. The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), which investigated the matter under the Official Secrets Act (OSA) submitted a list of 28 witnesses in the case, according to a copy of the indictment.

The special court, established under the OSA indicted the two leaders on October 23. During a hearing of the case, earlier this week, the FIA presented 10 witnesses in the court. The judge, after marking the attendance of the witnesses had adjourned the hearing till November 7.

Meanwhile, Imran’s personal physician, Dr Faisal Sultan visited the PTI chief who is also incarcerated in the Adiala Jail and declared his health satisfactory. Dr Sultan told reporters that the former prime minister had no complaints about his health and his diet was provided to him in the jail.

“There is no apparent indication that former premier is being subjected to 'slow poison' in prison,” Dr Faisal Sultan said. “Perhaps he had expressed some concerns regarding his health earlier but those are now being misquoted. No such symptoms are detected in the physical examination now,” he added.

On the occasion, Imran's lawyer Hamid Khan told the media outside the Adiala Jail that the PTI and its supporters were all concerned about Imran's health given the previous attempts on his life. He alleged that Imran was being subjected to distress and judicial harassment.

He regretted that convicted leaders of other political parties were enjoying state protocol while the PTI was not being allowed a level-playing field for the upcoming polls. He added that a dialogue among political parties was always possible.

Dr Sultan was allowed to meet with the PTI chief and conduct a physical examination, after the Rawalpindi police recorded his statement in connection with the May 9 cases in the presence of his lawyer Hamid Khan.