Imran Farooq murder case: Notices issued to Punjab IG, Home Dept

LAHORE: The Lahore High Court on Tuesday issued notices to the Punjab Home Department and the Inspector General of Prisons to respond by May 15 to a petition filed by the wife of a man convicted of murdering MQM leader Imran Farooq, challenging his transfer from Adiala Jail to the high-security prison in Sahiwal.

A trial court in Islamabad had, in 2020, awarded life imprisonment to Moazam Ali on the charges of facilitating the killers of Imran Farooq in London. Petitioner Sadia Bano approached the court through Advocate Mian Dawood, challenging the shifting of her husband from Adiala to Sahiwal Jail.

The counsel argued that the shifting of the petitioner’s husband was in violation of Pakistan Prison Rules 1978, settled legal principles, and especially the fundamental rights guaranteed in the Constitution.

He said the petitioner’s husband was kept at Adiala Jail during the trial, and his wife and children shifted to Islamabad from Karachi to contest the case. He argued that the shifting of a prisoner far from the residence of his or her family or hometown was practically redundant and ineffective under the rules. The court, after hearing the arguments, issued notices to the home department and others.