The Supreme Court of Pakistan on Friday rejected a petition filed by former prime minister Nawaz Sharif for an extension in the bail granted to him on medical grounds in the Al-Azizia Steel Mills corruption reference.
The six-week bail earlier granted by the apex court to Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supremo expires on May 7.
The court, in its short order, also rejected a related plea seeking permission for Nawaz’s treatment in the United Kingdom.
As the hearing went under way, Chief Justice Asif Saeed Khosa remarked that Nawaz Sharif was given six weeks for medical treatment, but it seems he spent the entire time in tests alone. He remarked that the six-week bail was granted on the basis of a report from a medical board which had recommended his angiography. With the latest plea for permission to go abroad, the counsel has exceeded from the scope of the initial petition, he remarked.
Nawaz’s counsel Khawaja Haris told the bench that his client is suffering from kidney-related ailment as well as depression, and asked the court to extend the bail for eight more weeks. “Doctors are treating Nawaz and monitoring him on a daily basis,” he informed the court.
“One point [in the petition] states that Nawaz is not getting better. Another one states that he wishes to undergo treatment abroad,” the chief justice observed.
To this, Khawaja Haris replied that the medical reports from Sharif Medical City Hospital recommended that his client be treated abroad. “We have good doctors and machines available here [in the country]. How can we know that his treatment is not possible here?” the chief justice questioned. “The medical board had said an angiography was crucial, that’s why we had granted him the bail,” he remarked, adding that an angiography needs an hour, whereas the court had granted him six weeks.
The counsel argued said that the blockage in Nawaz Sharif’s carotid artery has increased by 50 per cent, which is an alarming sign. He further said that a cardiac MRI is used across the world as an alternative for angiography but the process is not offered anywhere in the country.
The chief justice rejected the argument, saying that the doctors quoted in court have not said anything in this regard that may be considered to be a final assessment of Nawaz’s medical condition. The conduct of the petitioner shows there is no imminent threat to his life and the plea is based more on apprehensions, he said, adding that it is possible for Nawaz Sharif to be treated in prison as the superintendent will be empowered to send him to hospital as and when required.
The chief justice also made it clear that the SC cannot review its order on the basis of new medical reports regarding Nawaz’s health. Anyone who applies for bail on medical grounds claims that his life is in danger. If this route is taken, the review will become an unending process,” he said, and clarified that a review does not entail reconsideration and, rather, is a process wherein the court only corrects its errors.
Regarding Nawaz’s stress levels, the chief justice noted that it is natural for every prisoner to be under stress in jail. He also referred to a case wherein the apex court had cancelled a convict’s interim bail on the grounds that he failed to undergo the operation that he purportedly required.
Earlier, Justice Khosa defended the order for interim bail saying that it is a common practice as hundreds of convicts have been granted bails on medical grounds. Even death sentences have been suspended over medical concerns, so it is surprising to see the courts being maligned in this instance, he said.
Later, the court turned down the objections and later denied the plea through a short order. In evening, the ousted prime minister’s daughter, Maryam Nawaz, took to Twitter to send a message to PML-N supporters in the wake of the court ruling. “Nawaz Sharif is not paying the penalty for any crime but is suffering for being the voice of the people. The more difficult his sacrifices are, the fruit they bear will be that much sweeter and this fruit will be there for the coming generations [to benefit from]. I will say this again: Nawaz Sharif will God willing not let your heads hang in shame. This struggle is for you all,” she wrote.
