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Zulfiqar Ali's fate to be decided soon: Official
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President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo delivers a speech during the annual meeting of police and military leadership at the Indonesian Military (TNI) headquarters in Cilangkap, East Jakarta, recently (JP/Safrin La Batu)
T
he government will soon decide on the fate of Zulfiqar Ali, a Pakistani death-row inmate, including on whether or not he will be pardoned after it was confirmed that he is now terminally ill with advanced liver cancer, according to an official.
Ifdhal Kasim from the Office of the Presidential Staff told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday that President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo was aware of Zulfiqar’s health condition.
“We have learned about Zulfiqar’s health condition; therefore, we hope there can be a quick decision made on the matter,” said Ifdhal.
Zulfiqar told Pakistani newspaper Dawn recently that doctors accompanying him had told him that he only had about three months to live. He has been diagnosed with stage-four liver cancer and diabetes mellitus has aggravated further his illness.
When he was asked on the exact day President Jokowi would make a decision, Ifdhal said he was unsure.
“One thing for sure is that there is an urgency on this, because we have learned about Zulfiqar's condition," Ifdhal said.
Zulfiqar's mother recently spoke in an interview with Pakistani broadcaster Geo TV, asking for her son's release so he could spend his final days with loved ones at home.
“The doctors have told him that he does not have much time,” she said last Wednesday.
Jokowi on Friday paid an official visit to Pakistan, during which his counterpart Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi reportedly brought up the issue. (ebf)
