KARACHI: Two high profile prisoners including Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) leader and former provincial information minister Sharjeel Memon’s and Asif Zardari’s close aide Hussain Lawai are receiving medical in treatment in two of the finest hospitals of the City.
Although the normal prisoners of city’s prisons get medical treatment inside the jail premises, the medical facilities for high profile persons accused of mega corruption scandals tend to get best facilities owing to their political affiliations, it was learnt.
The two hospitals include National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases NICVD and Dr Ziauddin Hospital, which owned by PPP leader Dr Asim Hussain.
Interestingly, the prisons department which is required to seek prior approval from the Home Department before shifting any accused or criminal to the hospital for checkup or treatment also failed to seemed to have failed in fulfilling the requirement of getting the approval.
Earlier, the famous banker and close-friend of PPP Co-Chairman Asif Ali Zardari, Hussain Lawai was sent to jail on July 15 in multi-billion money laundering scandal.
Lawai, accused of facilitating the opening of 29 ‘fake’ accounts in Summit Bank, Sindh Bank and United Bank Limited to launder money amounting to Rs35 billion, was presented, along with another co-accused, before a magistrate by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA).
After submitting an initial inquiry report, the FIA team sought further remand to complete the investigation.
The sources confided to Pakistan Today that the administration of Malir Prison illegally shifted accused Lawai of in the emergency ward of NICVD hospital on August 9, without seeking any approval from the administrative department i.e. home department.
Most interestingly, the management of the prison forwarded a letter to the home secretary on August 17, seeking post facto sanction for the hospitalisation of Hussain Lawai in the emergency ward of NICVD.
“I am enclosing herewith a copy of the Superintendent District Prison Malir Karachi received through the Deputy Inspector General of Prisons Karachi region letter dated 15.8.2018 wherein he has stated that the above named accused/UTP was referred to NICVD hospital Karachi on 9.8.2018 through proper strong prison escort as per advise of medical officer of the prison vide necessary referral from CMO No 296/2018 dated 9.8.2018 to save the life of above said prisoner, where the above named accused/UTP has been admitted in emergency ward of NICVD hospital Karachi on the same day for 24 hours for further treatment and management”, an official correspondence said.
“It is further requested that necessary order of post facto sanction for hospitalization of the above named accused/UTP at NICVD hospital Karachi may kindly be accorded as required in Rule No 197(ii) of Pakistan Prisons Rules and communicated to this Inspectorate for taking further necessary action accordingly”, the letter further added.
According to sources, the prisons department has once again asked the home department to shift Hussain Lawai from NICVD to a private hospital in the city’s PECHS Society for further treatment.
Moreover, former Sindh minister for information and archives Sharjeel Inam Memon has been provided with VVIP protocol in Dr Ziauddin Hospital Clifton since past couple of weeks.
The hospital is owned by PPP leader Dr Asim Hussain, who is on bail in multi-billion corruption cases, facilitating terrorists at his hospital.
“Instead of being behind the bars, Sharjeel Inam Memon has been admitted in the VIP room of the hospital for the past couple of weeks and recently the prison authorities have demanded to declare the VIP room of the hospital as sub-jail and provide security squad for Sharjeel Memon headed by a DSP rank officer”, a senior officer at the home department told Pakistan Today.