Former Pakistan PM Shahid Abbasi seeks better facilities in jail

Former Pakistan prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi has filed an application in the accountability court of Islamabad, seeking better facilities for him in Rawalpindi's Adiala jail, according to a media report on Saturday.

Responding to the application, Accountability Court Judge Mohammad Bashir issued a notice to the superintendent of jail and sought the latter's reply by September 30, Dawn news reported.

Barrister Sadia Abbasi filed the application on behalf of her detained brother, who was sent to jail on judicial remand in the LNG terminal case on September 26.

Shahid Abbassi, 60, is accused of awarding a 15-year contract for an LNG terminal against the rules while he was petroleum minister in the cabinet of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif.

The counsel argued before the court that Shahid Abbasi had been given better class facilities during his detention in Malir jail in 1999, when arrested by the government of President Pervez Musharraf.

Sadia Abbasi pointed out that despite the directive of the court, the jail administration refused to provide better facilities to the former prime minister as well as to former finance minister Miftah Ismail.

The accountability court had on September 26 rejected the National Accountability Bureau's request for extending physical remand of Shahid Abbasi, Ismail and former managing director of Pakistan State Oil Sheikh Imranul Haq and sent them to jail on judicial remand.

It directed the jail administration to provide them a better class of facilities.

Sadia Abbasi said the jail administration was not even permitting the former prime minister to meet his close relatives.

In the application, she requested the court to allow 13 friends and family members of Shahid Abbasi to meet him in jail.

Sadia Abbasi informed the court that Shahid Abbasi had health issues and therefore should be allowed a prescribed diet and facilities of air conditioner, refrigerator, television, newspapers, bed, books, toaster and oven at his own expense.

Jail sources, on the other hand, said that the jail administration had sought approval from the home department to provide B-class facilities to Shahid Abbasi.

They said that since the home department had not yet responded, the former prime minister had not been given B-Class facilities.