PML-N's Hamza Shahbaz complains about suffering coronavirus in jail

LAHORE: PML-N leader Hamza Shahbaz on Tuesday complained before an accountability judge about the 'conditions' in which he has been "surviving the coronavirus pandemic in the jail".

The lawmaker had appeared in court for a hearing regarding a corruption reference pertaining to the Ramzan Sugar Mills. Addressing controversy over his failure to attend the previous hearing, Hamza said police officials "deliberately" brought an armoured vehicle to transport him to the court despite knowing that he suffers from severe back pain. 

"They made me wait for two and a half hours," he said. "For the past 17 months, I was being brought [to court] in bullet-proof vehicles. Suddenly, they want to transport me in an armoured vehicle."

"Only I know how I have been surviving the coronavirus pandemic in jail. I take medications on my own without any medical facilitation," he complained. 

The judge questioned the additional secretary on the relevant laws or SOPs related to bringing a suspect/accused to courts, to which the secretary replied saying that there are no fixed rules yet. 

The accountability court then directed authorities to create SOPs for the transportation of prisoners as well as the different classes of prisoners to differentiate between them, and summoned officers at the next hearing on November 17.

Read more: Judge irked by Hamza Shahbaz's refusal to travel in armoured vehicle

Hamza's arrest

The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) had arrested Hamza in June last year.

The leader of the opposition in Punjab Assembly is being investigated in two different cases pertaining to the accumulation of assets beyond his means of income and money laundering.