KARACHI: AG seeks time to place on record order on arrest
By Our Reporter
KARACHI, Nov 22: Hearing of constitutional petition, challenging the detention of deputy chief of Jamaat-i-Islami, Liaquat Baluch, was adjourned till Friday when the advocate-general, Sindh, sought time to place on record the grounds for detention.
The constitutional petition, filed on Wednesday by Prof Ghafoor Ahmed, came up for a pre-admission hearing before a division bench, comprising Chief Justice of the Sindh High Court, Justice Saiyed Saeed Ashaad and Justice Musheer Alam.
The Sindh home secretary and Superintendent Karachi Prison have been made respondents.
When the matter came up for hearing, counsel for the petitioner, Raja Haq Nawaz Khan, submitted that the detention of Liaquat Baluch was illegal, without any rationale or basis and the impugned order was discriminatory.
He submitted that Mr. Baluch was arrested in Karachi on Nov 14 and confined to Central Prison under the orders of Sindh home secretary, purportedly passed under Sindh Maintenance of Order Ordinance, 1960, without supplying copy thereof to the detainee.
AG Sindh Raja Qureshi submitted that when such arrests are made, a copy of such an order is sent to his office. He sought a day’s time to check his record and place it on record if there was any such order. After hearing this, the bench adjourned the matter till Friday.
It was the case of the petitioner that the impugned order of detention, apart from being without lawful authority, was a misuse of authority and jurisdiction, coercive, mala fide, arbitrary, unjust and violative of Articles 2-A, 4, 9, 10, 20 & 25 of the Constitution.
It was also contended that Article 19 envisaged freedom of speech and expression while no action detrimental to life, liberty, body, reputation or property of any person can be taken except in accordance with law. But the respondent government in utter disregard of Articles 4 & 9 passed detention order apparently under Sindh Maintenance of Public Order Ordinance, 1960, also violating Article 10 of the Constitution in as much as neither detention order had been served, nor grounds of detention had been supplied and hence the detention order being illegal was liable to be set aside.
Mr Baluch, who was the coordinator of Pakistan Afghan Defence Council, and was taken into custody owing to his strong criticism of the government’s policy of aligning with the US-led coalition which has battered Afghanistan, in reprisal attacks against Taliban and Osama Bin Laden, killing a large number of civilians.
The petitioner had contended that criticising the government and mobilising the people against its policies which were perceived to be a threat to the country’s unity, integrity, sovereignty and solidarity of Pakistan was not a crime.
It was his contention that the PADC was mobilising people against the great betrayal of the national interests of Pakistan and the Muslim Ummah.
The petitioner had also criticised the cynical dropping of cruise missiles and cluster bombs on hospitals, schools, and houses, killing and wounding civilians, under the garb of eliminating terrorism.
