ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) has rejected petitions filed by three prisoners seeking access to private hospital treatment and telephone communication with family members living abroad, ruling that such facilities cannot be claimed as an inherent legal right.
Justice Muhammad Asif issued a written judgment on a petition filed by prisoner Muhammad Ismail. The court dismissed two petitions submitted by inmates of Adiala Jail, who had sought treatment at a private hospital, the constitution of a medical board and permission to communicate with family members overseas by telephone.
The court observed that the petitioner had failed to establish that an August 2 office order was unlawful or that it violated his fundamental rights.
According to the judgment, a prisoner has no legal right to demand transfer to a private hospital of his own choice. The court noted that imprisonment necessarily involves restrictions on liberty imposed in accordance with law and that every facility available to an inmate cannot automatically be treated as a fundamental right.
The IHC held that the primary responsibility for providing medical treatment to prisoners rests with the state and the administrative system of government hospitals. However, where the required treatment is not available at a government hospital, treatment at a private hospital may be considered on the recommendation of a medical board.
The court directed jail authorities to continue providing prisoners with all necessary medical facilities in accordance with the Pakistan Prison Rules, 1978.
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Regarding telephone contact with family members residing abroad, the court observed that authorities may consider requests for communication through WhatsApp, video calls or other available means where such facilities are permissible under the law. Any such communication, however, would remain subject to jail discipline, security requirements and the applicable prison rules.
During the proceedings, reference was also made to the transfer of former prime minister and PTI founder Imran Khan to Shifa Hospital. The court observed that judgments of the Supreme Court are binding on high courts, but noted that the Supreme Court’s August 18 directions were interim in nature and the case cited in the proceedings remains pending before the apex court.
Therefore, the high court said, an interim order could not be treated as a final determination of the issue.
The IHC further clarified that the absence of treatment for a prisoner cannot, without the opinion of a medical board, automatically be declared a violation of a fundamental right. It noted that prison rules already provide a procedure for transferring inmates to outside hospitals when medically necessary.
The ruling effectively reaffirmed that prisoners are entitled to necessary medical care, but access to a privately chosen hospital or specific communication facilities remains subject to medical recommendations, applicable laws, prison regulations and security considerations.
