Prosecution wants to cross-examine chief of AFIC

Published January 29, 2014
The AFIC board, constituted by the court, had declared the condition of retired Gen Musharraf as critical and recommended his treatment at a place of his choice. — File photo
The AFIC board, constituted by the court, had declared the condition of retired Gen Musharraf as critical and recommended his treatment at a place of his choice. — File photo

ISLAMABAD: After expressing lack of confidence in a report prepared by army doctors on the health of former military ruler Pervez Musharraf, the prosecution team in the high treason case has requested the special court to summon Maj Gen Syed Imran Majeed, Commandant of the Armed Forces Institute of Cardiology (AFIC), for cross-examination.

The three-judge court is likely to take up on Wednesday the objections to the report of the AFIC medical board and the application for summoning the commandant, filed by the prosecution team headed by Advocate Mohammad Akram Sheikh.

The AFIC board, constituted by the court, on Jan 16 comprised Maj Gen Majeed, Deputy Commandant Brig Safdar Abbas, Brig Qaiser Khan and Col Afsheen Iqbal.

The board declared the condition of retired Gen Musharraf as critical and recommended his treatment at a place of his choice.

In its application, the prosecution termed the report evasive and requested that it be disregarded.

“But if the honourable court wishes to give any weight to this report, the prosecution requests for summoning at least the president of the medical board, Maj Gen Syed Mohammad Imran Majeed, Adviser in Cardiology, Pakistan Armed Forces, professor, senior cardiologist and cardiac electro-physiologist, to cross-examine him for the limited purpose of his findings and opinion to evaluate his report and his prescription embodying the desire of the accused,” the application said.

It said the special court, without an application from either side or notice to the prosecution, had constituted the board of doctors of the AFIC, which had earlier submitted an evasive and inconclusive report on Jan 7.

It said the board had not answered the three questions posed by the court and the report ran contrary to the medical practice in the field of cardiology not only in Pakistan but in most of the countries providing cardiac health care.

“Angiogram is an investigative tool to ascertain the exact diagnosis and it is necessary to examine how many people” had suffered the anticipated hypothecated problem at the AFIC during the past few years while undergoing angiograms by the president of the medical board and how much weight should be given to the ‘realm of possibilities’ found by the board of the AFIC, it said.

“It is necessary to expose before the honourable court the total lack of professionalism while preparing this report, which is hollow and devoid of any substance. It is in complete and naked disregard of professional integrity, the reputation and good name of AFIC, which performs thousands of such procedures every month and that such hazard never came over in a single case,” the application added.

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