ISLAMABAD - The wife of schizophrenic convict on Friday filed review petition in the top court against its judgment on the death sentence.

Sofia Bano had prayed to the court to take up the review on 31st October as her husband’s execution is scheduled on November 2.

“End of justice demand that stay for death execution may kindly be heard on urgent basis on October 31 because if the application is not heard on same day then the petition would become infructuous and the husband of the petitioner would be hanged on November 2 in the early morning,” she says in her application.

Earlier, despite the pendency of review petition, a sessions court in Vehari on Wednesday issued the death warrant for Imdad Ali, 50, who was sentenced to death in 2001 over a shooting. He has spent 14 years on death row, with three years in solitary confinement in jail hospital due to paranoid schizophrenia, a seriously debilitation mental illness, which he was diagnosed with in 2013.

Imdad’s most recent medical reports in September and October described him as actively suffering from psychotic symptoms and a psychiatrist at the prison deemed him a treatment-resistant case.

However, the top court last week ruled that schizophrenia does not qualify as a mental disorder under the mental health laws – a verdict that cleared the way for his execution.

The Supreme Court in its 11-page judgment on October 20 held that a psychiatric disorder like schizophrenia does not subjugate the death sentence.

“In our opinion, rules relating to mental sickness are not subjugative to delay the execution of death sentence which has been awarded to the convict,” said the SC’s verdict.

Safia Bano, wife of the convict, on Wednesday moved a review petition against dismissal of his petition.

The review petition said that the SC had relied upon the Indian’s court judgment, which was not applicable in Imdad’s case, adding that Indian court sought to address as to whether a convict was suffering from any mental disorder.

“But in this matter, the question is whether or not schizophrenia falls within the definition of ‘mental disorder’,” it said.

The petition said schizophrenia was known to be result of structural and biochemical changes in brain and it was classified as a chronic and permanent mental disorder.

“Indeed, the petitioner’s husband jail medical record reflect that he has consistently displayed symptoms of schizophrenia is not showing signs of improvement and has active psychotic symptoms,” said the review petition.

It is further stated that in order to prevent a serious prejudice and violation of fundamental rights, the mandatory provisions of Chapter 18 and Rule 362 of the Pakistan Prison Rules must be enforced in the case of an established a criminal mental patient such as the petitioner’s husband in accordance with law.

Meanwhile, the Federal Ministry of Human Rights has also sent a letter advising the interior ministry’s secretary to stay the execution of Imdad on humanitarian grounds.