The PTI on Monday condemned the alleged political victimization and “inhumane” prison conditions faced by jailed former MNA and Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) chief Sahibzada Hamid Raza.
The party claimed that essential health care and basic rights were not being provided to the imprisoned leader, constituting a serious erosion of justice, due process and constitutional protections.
Islamabad police arrested Raza and produced him before an anti-terrorism court in Faisalabad, which sent him to prison to serve his 10-year sentence in the May 9 case. The SIC chief was convicted in the case along with several PTI leaders on July 31.
In a statement issued by the PTI’s Central Media Department, the party vehemently condemned the treatment received by Raza during his detention.
“His arrest, carried out while he was on his way to voluntarily surrender before the court, and the subsequent denial of his basic rights in prison reflect a disturbing pattern of political persecution and a blatant disregard for human dignity,” he said.
The PTI strongly demanded that Raza be provided immediate access to necessary medical care and legal facilities in jail.
“His family and lawyer should be allowed to meet him in a suitable and unimpeded environment. PTI also calls for a speedy and impartial hearing of his appeals to ensure that justice is done without delay,” it said.
The statement further stated that his sentence reflected a wider political vendetta, while the conditions he endured in prison were “completely intolerable”. The PTI expressed serious concern about his health and fundamental rights.
“He is denied essential medications, while his family and lawyers are forced to meet him through bars in inappropriate and restrictive conditions, a flagrant violation of constitutional guarantees,” the statement states.
Equally worrying, he said, was the fact that a judge of the Lahore High Court (LHC) recused himself from hearing the petitions of Raza and others on November 14, causing unnecessary delays in the judicial process and undermining their right to timely justice.
Furthermore, the party noted that the failure to suspend the by-election in the NA-104 constituency had paved the way for an unbalanced and one-sided electoral process.
