After Nawaz, death-row inmate writes to IHC chief justice for relief

ISLAMABAD: A death-row inmate has approached the Islamabad High Court (IHC) seeking directives for the government to ensure proper treatment of his poor eyesight, ARY News reported.

The convict, Khadim Hussain, who is incarcerated at Adiala Jail, wrote a letter to IHC Chief Justice Athar Minallah who converted it into a constitutional petition and sought a reply in this regard from the authorities concerned.

Justice Minallah observed that this is a human rights issue and added he will issue a detailed verdict in the case.

He expressed displeasure over the government for failing to submit its response to the petition.

A government lawyer, however, sought three days’ time to submit comments on behalf of the government.

The inmate in his letter complained about alleged neglect of the executive authorities, which he said, has added to his suffering by causing further damage to his eyesight. He said he is orphan and doesn’t have financial resources for redressal of his grievance.

It is noteworthy that the Lahore High Court had last week let former premier Nawaz Sharif fly abroad for four weeks for medical treatment without furnishing an indemnity bond as demanded by the federal government.

The two-member bench, headed by Justice Ali Baqir Najafi, ordered the federal government to remove the name of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supreme leader from the ECL without setting any conditions.

The bench, which was hearing the plea filed by PML-N seeking unconditional removal of Nawaz Sharif’s name from ECL, also maintained that the former prime minister can initially stay abroad for four weeks, but the duration is extendable on the basis of his medical reports.