KARACHI, June 26: After initial denial of custody of Fattanis, in connection with recovery of a decomposed body from a farmland off the Super Highway, the government on Wednesday conceded that they had been detained under MPO for 30 days from June 20.

The detention order issued by Sindh home secretary was submitted by the additional advocate-general Sarwar Khan before a division bench, comprising Chief Justice of the Sindh High Court, Justice Saiyed Saeed Ashhad, and Justice Wahid Bux Brohi.

The separate but identical orders of detention pertained to all the alleged detainees, including Mehmood Fattani, his two brothers and a brother-in-law, besides Aftab Munir and Maulana Aamir.

Counsel Khawaja Naveed Ahmed had moved the petition on behalf of Najma Mehmood, wife of Mehmood Fattani, and others.

It was claimed by the petitioner that on the night between May 28 and 29, at about 2am, a contingent of police raided her house and took with them the petitioner’s husband and his two brothers, Yasin and Afzal, and their brother-in-law, Ismail.

When the petition came up for hearing, the home department filed the detention order whereby they were shown detained under section 3 (1) of the Sindh MPO Ordinance 1960, for a period of 30 days from June 20.

The bench noted that in the petition it was specifically alleged that on the afternoon of May 28 the police had picked up Muhammad Aamir from his residence located at Adamjinagar.

But this fact was denied by the SSP, Investigation-II (Homicide), Karachi, in his comments filed on June 17.

The respondents were directed to explain categorically the whereabouts of the detainees before June 20. The AAG was directed to file a clear statement within seven days.

The order passed by home secretary Mukhtar Ahmed said that the detainees used to make provocative speeches detrimental to public safety and if remained free they are likely to make more speeches which could prove dangerous in the present delicate circumstances.

The AAG had contended that in view of the detention order the petitions had become infructuous.

The bench noted that no comments have been filed by the Sindh government in these petitions.