Govt asks IG prisons to remove jailed Nawaz’s air-conditioner

The Punjab government has asked inspector general (IG) of prisons to remove the air-conditioner installed in ex-prime minister (PM) Nawaz Sharif’s cell at Lahore’s Kot Lakhpat jail.

“The following directions of PM [Imran Khan] have been intimated for implementation and report ‘No Preferential Treatment be Given to the Criminals and Money Launders in the Prison in Punjab’,” The Express Tribune quoted a July 17 letter, written by Punjab Home Department to the IG prisons, as saying.

The letter asks the IG to take necessary action in the matter immediately and submit a report in three days.

PM Imran, in his address to Pakistani-American community in Washington last Sunday, had announced to withdraw air-conditioning and television facilities provided to jailed former PM Nawaz as well as ex-president Asif Ali Zardari.

However, the letter being dated July 17 suggests that the authorities had been ordered to take away the facilities long before the premier’s announcement.

Meanwhile, according to the ex-PM’s daughter, Maryam Nawaz, doctors have advised that her father’s room temperature be maintained at a comfortable level to prevent dehydration and the possible deterioration of his renal function.

The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader has also said that withdrawing the air-conditioning facility would be equivalent to putting Nawaz’s life in danger.