Dr Yasmin Rashid welcomes Peshawar court ruling in May 9 cases

LAHORE: Former Punjab health minister Dr Yasmin Rashid, who is currently held at Kot Lakhpat Jail, has welcomed a recent ruling by a sessions court in Peshawar related to the May 9 cases, describing it as a positive development amid what she called an ongoing judicial crisis in Pakistan.

Her remarks were conveyed from jail through her legal counsel, Rana Mudassar Umer. According to the statement relayed by her lawyer, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf leader said the court’s observations had renewed hope among political prisoners and their families that constitutional values and judicial independence still remained alive within the system.

"It is a breath of fresh air," Dr Rashid said, adding that the judgement was also "like a light at the end of the tunnel", as well as that "one judge stands up on his principles."

Her comments come at a time when debate continues nationally over judicial independence, the handling of cases linked to May 9, and allegations of selective accountability in the country’s legal and political system.

Dr Rashid expressed the hope that other judges would also show similar independence and courage while hearing cases connected to the crackdown that followed the events of May 9.

She also called for the formation of a judicial commission to review the arrests, prosecutions and treatment of political workers who were detained after May 9.

Concerns over prosecutions and detention

The PTI leader maintained that there was no evidence against many political detainees who, she said, continued to remain behind bars while facing repeated prosecutions.

She argued that the continued imprisonment of political workers despite what she described as weak or disputed evidence had raised serious concerns about due process and the equal application of the law.

In further comments, Dr Rashid contrasted the treatment of political prisoners with what she described as leniency towards politically connected individuals. She alleged that political workers were "treated like terrorists, while influential figures such as Pinky the cocaine queen" moved through the justice system as though they controlled it.

Comments on women prisoners

Dr Rashid also criticised the treatment of women prisoners, calling it "one of the saddest chapters in Pakistan’s judicial history."

Referring to the alleged maltreatment of female detainees, she said women prisoners who were unwell were being denied legal protections and relief that are ordinarily available under the law, including bail and proper medical consideration.

The former minister’s statement focused on the legal treatment of political workers detained in the aftermath of May 9 and on her demand for judicial scrutiny of the arrests and prosecutions carried out since then.