ISLAMABAD: (DNA) – The Supreme Court (SC) on Friday dismissed a petition filed by ousted prime minister Nawaz Sharif seeking permanent bail on medical grounds.A three-member bench headed by Chief Justice Asif Saeed Khosa heard the case in Court Room no. 1.The court maintained that none of the doctors who examined the former premier had recommended that his treatment was only possible abroad.
Security around the apex court premises was beefed up and special security passes were issued for those wanting to attend the hearing. Advocates and journalists who cover the top court have been exempted from passes. No cellphones are allowed inside the courtroom.
On April 27, the former prime minister requested the apex court to grant him ‘permanent bail’ on the basis of his fresh medical report which revealed that Nawaz continues to suffer from acute anxiety and depression that may lead to ‘sudden death’.
Nawaz has been serving a seven-year prison term at Lahore Kot Lakhpat Jail since December 24, 2018 when an accountability court convicted him in one of the three corruption cases filed in the wake of the apex court’s July 28, 2017 order in Panama Papers case.
However, last month – on March 26 – a SC bench granted him six-week bail in view of his health condition so that he might receive medical treatment from his personal physician.
The apex court had restricted him from travelling abroad. The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supremo has also requested the apex court to allow him to go abroad for medical treatment.
The review petition says the recommendation by the doctors unequivocally shows that treatment of Nawaz, as well as his full recovery, is not possible within the six-week period. “It is requested that the SC grant bail without any specific condition,” it says.
