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KARACHI: Zulfiqar Ali, a Pakistani national on death row in Indonesia behind whom the country rallied in 2016, has been diagnosed with stage-4 terminal cancer.
The father of five was detained for nearly 14 years for a wrongful conviction; he may die in prison while waiting to be executed.
His attending physician confirmed that Mr Ali was suffering from stage-4 liver cancer and had been given three months to live. He is also suffering from chronic liver cirrhosis and Diabetes Mellitus.
Talking to Dawn over the phone on Monday, the 52-year-old said that his wife was staying with him in the prison hospital to look after him. “They can’t treat me here...it is a prison hospital...the doctors are here to monitor me but I have to go to private hospitals for treatment and it’s very expensive here. I just want to go home,” he said.
The cost of treatment in Indonesia, where prisoners are expected to pay themselves, is too high for Mr Ali to bear. His medical bills have cost him over $37,000, part of which has been paid by Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Indonesian President Joko Widodo will be addressing a joint session of parliament in Islamabad during his state visit scheduled for Jan 26. According to the Justice Project Pakistan (JPP), it is imperative that Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi raise Mr Ali’s case with him.
“The government of Pakistan must urge President Widodo to pardon Zulfiqar [Ali] in the light of his terminal illness and the suffering he has already undergone as a result of his wrongful imprisonment,” said the JPP.
In July 2016, the JPP spearheaded a nationwide campaign that resulted in a high-level diplomatic intervention by the government of Pakistan, saving Mr Ali at the last minute. While Indonesia halted the execution at the time, it did not acquit him.
Mr Ali was arrested in November 2004 after his flatmate was caught with 300 grams of heroin in Jakarta — a city that he wasn’t even in at the time.
He was arrested without a warrant in the West Java province. For three days, he was tortured by the police until he was forced to sign a self-incriminating “confession”.
On account of several violations throughout the case, the former president of Indonesia, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, commissioned an inquiry in 2010 which found Mr Ali to be innocent.
“Right now is a crucial moment for Zulfiqar [Ali] because the president is coming. It is important that he [Mr Widodo] is held to account... a Pakistani citizen is being held there for something he didn’t do,” said JPP’s Rimmel Mohydin.
Abbas, Mr Ali’s cousin in Lahore, said that the family hadn’t seen Mr Ali for more than a decade. “We know he is innocent,” said Abbas, adding that his mother was hoping against hope that her son would be able to spend his last days with her in Lahore.
Published in Dawn, January 23rd, 2018
