RAWALPINDI/ISLAM­ABAD: A day after staging a demonstration against alleged rigging in the general elections, with leaders of the Pakistan Muslim League (PML-N) and other opposition parties, Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party chief Mehmood Khan Achakzai and Ghulam Ahmed Bilour of the Awami National Party met Nawaz Sharif at Adiala jail on Thursday.

Meanwhile, Mr Sharif’s son-in-law retired Captain Muhammad Safdar was taken from Adiala jail to the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims) for stomach ulcers treatment.

Earlier, Mr Achakzai was not allowed to meet ousted prime minister Sharif, but after protests, which got the media involved, the jail authorities were forced to reconsider. But the Pakhtun nationalist was not the only one to be stopped initially from meeting Mr Sharif — Azad Jammu and Kashmir Prime Minister Raja Farooq Haider was also not allowed at first.

Senators Mushahidullah Khan and Usman Kakar also tried their luck, but they weren’t let in, as the authorities said that meeting time was over.

Junaid Safdar and Mehrunnissa — children of Maryam Nawaz — Rahil Munir, her son-in-law and Yousaf Abbas Sharif and Salman Shahbaz, nephews of Mr Sharif, were among the family members who met the ex-prime minister.

Senior leaders meet Nawaz, complain about prison officials’ misbehaviour

Other prominent people who met Mr Sharif included PML-N senior leader Makhdoom Javed Hashmi, Senator Chaudhry Tanveer Ali Khan, ex-member of the National Assembly Dr Tariq Fazal Chaudhry and former railways minister Khawaja Saad Rafique.

Prison security officials also misbehaved with members of the media present there for coverage. The journalists staged a demonstration against the authorities and demanded the Punjab caretaker chief minister act against such behaviour. Speaking to reporters, Javed Hashmi claimed that Imran Khan was a representative of the establishment and that he hatched conspiracies to grab the seat of the prime minister of Pakistan.

He said the general elections were rigged and the PML-N along with other political parties had come out to protest. He said there was no chance that an NRO would be signed with the government allowing the imprisoned PML-N leaders to come out.

Mr Hashmi lashed out at the Superintendent of Adiala jail, Saeedullah Gondal, saying that he was responsible for the attitude of the prison staff.

Talking to reporters outside the jail, former federal minister Marriyum Aurangzeb said that the Sharifs were in good spirits and their health was also fine. She demanded that jail authorities and the caretaker government allow PML-N workers and leaders to meet the Sharifs three times a week, instead of just on Thursday.

She also argued that the elections were rigged in favour of Imran Khan’s party, and the opposition parties were in the fight together. She advised the media not to listen to the statements of other people meeting Nawaz Sharif in prison, because the party had appointed her to give statements on behalf of the ousted prime minister.

“Three-time elected prime minister of Pakistan Mian Nawaz Sharif is under a lot of stress, as the prison authorities have not provided him basic facilities,” said Mr Bilour while talking to journalists.

He said the morale of the deposed premier was high and he was in no mood to surrender. He said the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf government could not complete its tenure if the Election Commission of Pakistan held fair and free by-elections.

Senator Usman Kakar lashed out at the jail authorities for not allowing him to meet the Sharifs. He said he had approached all legal forums making a request to be allowed to hold the meeting, but his pleas were not answered.

“We even met the jail superintendent as he is under immense pressure from the caretaker government,” he said, adding that they were not trying to meet Indian spy Kulbhushan Jadhav — but a politician.

A senior prison official told Dawn that Captain Safdar had been complaining of a stomach problem for the last few days, and his health took a turn for worse on Wednesday night.

The official said that Mr Safdar was examined by the prison doctor who had also recommended that he be moved to a hospital. The jail authorities informed the provincial government that decided to allow Mr Safdar to be moved to the hospital. The room he was in was declared a sub-jail.

“The patient had a gastric bypass almost a year and a half ago. He was given drugs in prison without taking his medical history into consideration, which resulted in his health worsening. We hope that the patient will recover in a few days and after that he would be sent back,” said Dr Raja Amjad, the executive director at Pims.

Published in Dawn, August 10th, 2018