Sharjeel liquor case: Chief pathologist, two prison officials suspended

KARACHI: The chief pathologist of the Sindh government and two prison officials were suspended on Wednesday in connection with the alleged recovery of liquor bottles from a Ziauddin Hospital room where PPP leader Sharjeel Memon had been under treatment.

The order issued by Sindh Prisons Inspector General Imran Yaqoob Minhas stated that assistant superintendents Mujahid Khan of the Central Jail Karachi and Naseem Ahmed Shujra of the District Jail Malir have been suspended “on account of their misconduct and negligence in performing their legitimate duties being incharge sub-jail at Ziauddin Hospital, Clifton”.

The notification read that during their suspension, the two officials would report to the office of the prisons deputy inspector general and continue to draw their salaries as permissible under the rules.

A separate order issued by Sindh Chief Secretary Maj (retd) Azam Suleman Khan stated that the services of chief pathologist Dr Zahid Ansari have been placed under suspension. Dr Ansari is the director laboratories and chemical examiner for the provincial administration as well as the secretary of the Sindh Blood Transfusion Authority.

The notification read that during his suspension, Dr Ansari would report to the health department and continue to draw his salary and allowances as admissible under the rules.

Chief minister’s law adviser Barrister Murtaza Wahab said the chemical examiner was suspended for breaching the law regarding secrecy of processes related to official chemical examinations.

He said in a statement that unauthorised disclosure of any confidential official matter to the media or to the public is a violation of the code of conduct set for government officials.

The examiner has been suspended for releasing the video of the chemical examination and making it viral on social media and other platforms, he added. “His suspension should not be taken in a negative sense.”