Medical facilities: Three Adiala jail inmates move FCC to callenge IHC verdict

Islamabad: Three inmates at Adiala Jail have taken the Federal Constitutional Court (FCC) to task over an Islamabad High Court (IHC) decision that dismissed their requests for permission to have medical exams at private hospitals. On Tuesday, the Adiala Jail detainees filed separate petitions, demanding the FCC overturn the IHC ruling and grant them the same medical care as granted to PTI founder Imran Khan.

The petitions argued that Article 25 of the Constitution guarantees equal treatment for all citizens and that the three inmates should be given the same treatment as Imran, as directed by the Supreme Court. The Federal High Court rejected the appeals on August 31, stating that the petitioners had not shown that a competent medical authority had recommended their admission to a private hospital, or that the required treatment could not be provided through government facilities.

The IHC reasoned that the inmates' deteriorating health, while important, was insufficient legal justification for transferring them to a private facility without following prescribed procedures. The inmates' lawyer, Akhtar Cheema, argued that the distinction between public and private hospitals was misguided, citing the Supreme Court's August 18 order directing Imran's transfer to Shifa International Hospital.

Cheema noted that his client had experienced severe internal bleeding eight times in the past two months at a public hospital, and contended that due to the overcrowded and under-resourced public system, the inmate would not receive adequate medical attention there.