Qadri’s sickness: Court seeks comments from state, jail officials

Sharif says his client has been using medication prescribed by jail doctors, but his condition is not improving.

ISLAMABAD:

Governor Salmaan Taseer’s convicted murderer is seeking the formation of a medical panel to review his health.

A divisional Islamabad High Court (IHC) bench issued notices to the state and Adiala Jail Superintendent Malik Mustaq on Monday in response to a petition filed by Malik Mumtaz Qadri.

Qadri, the police official who confessed to killing the late Punjab governor, claimed through his lawyer, former Lahore High Court (LHC) Chief Justice Khawaja Muhammad Sharif, that he has been suffering from chest and stomach pains since the beginning of October. Sharif said that his client had been using the medication prescribed by jail doctors, but his condition is not improving.

Sharif also claimed that the food being provided to his client is not of “good quality”.

IHC Chief Justice Iqbal Hameedur Rehman and Justice Riaz Ahmed Khan issued the notices and directed the respondents to submit a report in the next hearing on December 5.

Last year, Rawalpindi Anti Terrorism Court (ATC) Judge Pervaiz Ali Shah awarded the death sentence to Qadri after finding him guilty on charges of murder and terrorism.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 20^th, 2012.