Speaking before an accountability court in Lahore, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Hamza Shahbaz pointed out the harsh “conditions” he has had to deal with in jail.
The son of Shehbaz Sharif, who had contracted Covid-19 during his incarceration, said, “Only I know how I have been surviving the coronavirus pandemic in jail. I take medications on my own without any medical facilitation.”
Furthermore, the additional secretary, in reply to the judge’s question, revealed that there are no rules regarding standard operating procedures for prisoners in place yet.
Hamza had appeared before the court in a corruption case on the Ramzan Sugar Mills reference. When asked why he had failed to attend the previous hearing, he replied that they had “deliberately” brought over an armoured vehicle in spite of his back pains.
“They made me wait for two and a half hours,” he complained. “For the past 17 months, I was being brought [to court] in bullet-proof vehicles. Suddenly, they want to transport me in an armoured vehicle.”
The court directed the authorities to establish the standard operating procedures (SOPs) and present them at the next hearing on November 17.
