SUKKUR: The Sukkur bench of the Sindh High Court on Thursday rejected a report about declaring an entire floor of the NICVD Sukkur as sub-jail for Pakistan Peoples Party’s senior leader Syed Khursheed Ahmed Shah who had been staying in the hospital for almost two years.

The judges, who had sought the report from officers concerned, termed the report unsatisfactory and said the court should be informed as to why the entire first floor of the NICVD had been made sub-jail for an accused.

The court had heard on July 1 the petition filed by Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf leader Syed Tahir Shah, who had challenged prolonged illness of Khursheed Shah and his equally long treatment at the NICVD for the past 18 months, and adjourned the hearing to July 8 after seeking report from the officers concerned.

Additional advocate general (AAG) Shafi Mohammad Shah informed the court on behalf of the government that Shah had to be lodged in the hospital because he was a senior citizen and suffered from heart attacks.

The judges remarked that then each senior citizen was entitled to be facilitated in the same manner. Besides, Shah was seen attending sessions of the National Assembly and undertaking long travels for the purpose, said the judges.

The AAG replied that Shah had gone to Islamabad by an ambulance under constant care of paramedics.

The petitioner’s counsel said that he himself had undergone open-heart surgery at the NIVCD and had been discharged within a week but the PPP leader had been in the hospital for about two years.

He stressed that Shah must be sent to jail but the judges replied that the court would not adjudicate the case according to his wishes.

The court then adjourned the hearing till July 28 and once again ordered the officers concerned to submit a satisfactory report about Shah’s treatment and declaring the hospital’s entire floor as sub-jail.

Published in Dawn, July 9th, 2021