Nankana; February 16, 2021. Mr. Akbar Ali, Ahmadi, died of heart attack while in custody. He was 55.
Mr. Ali was a former president of the local Ahmadi community, Shaukatabad Colony, District Nankana Sahib.
On May 2, 2020, he and two other Ahmadi office-bearers were booked under anti-Ahmadiyya sections 298-B and C. The high court rejected their plea for bail confirmation, and all the three were arrested.
Later, Mr. Adil Riaz, a magistrate observed that the Blasphemy clauses PPC 295-C and 295-B were also applicable.
On February 16, the three accused were brought over to Nankana for trial at the sessions court. They were being driven back to the prison in Sheikhupura when Mr. Ali developed heart condition.
In Sheikhupura, he was shifted to the District Hospital where he died of heart attack.
The deceased was in prison for four and half months. He was an army veteran. He left behind two widows, a teen-age son and a daughter who are school going.
Detention under unfair anti-Ahmadi laws was apparently a major factor in his heart attack and death.
