KARACHI: Government comments on Haqiqi pleas sought
By Our Staff Reporter
KARACHI, Dec 23: A division bench of the Sindh High Court asked the provincial government on Monday to submit its comments on four petitions filed by Mohajir Qaumi Movement leaders within seven days.
Deputy Attorney-General Khurshid Hashmi submitted before the bench, consisting of Justice Wahid Bux Brohi and Justice Rehmat Hussain Jaferi, that the federal government had nothing to do with the alleged raids being conducted for the arrest of MQM (H) leaders. Additional Advocate-General Sarwar Khan submitted that he had just received notice but believed that those sought to be arrested were required in cases registered at various police stations.
The petitions have been filed by the wives of Aamir Khan, Younus Khan and Fayyaz Ahmad, the mother of Afaq Ahmad, the MQM (H) chairman, and party MNA Mahmood Qureshi, through Advocate Sohail Hameed. The MNA has asked for unsealing of Baitul Hamza, the party headquarters, and reopening of party offices, and other petitioners complained of humiliation and harassment. Notices on Monday were issued by another division bench comprising Justice Mohammad Roshan Essani and Justice S. Ali Aslam Jafri.
ASIF’S PLEA: A single bench of the Sindh High Court adjourned on Monday the hearing of an appeal filed by Asif Ali Zardari for deleting his name from Murtaza Bhutto murder case, add agencies.
The bench comprised Justice Roshan Ali Essani.
The court was hearing an appeal, filed through Barrister Azizullah Shaikh, against the dismissal of Asif Zardari’s appeal by the trial court.
The consul for Asif Zardari said the state had failed to prove the involvement of his client after examination of all the prosecution witnesses, so his name should be deleted from the case and proceedings against him should be stopped.
After hearing both the sides, the court adjourned the case for a date to be fixed by it.
CONTAINER RAIDED: The Nazir of the Sindh High Court, on the instructions of Justice Zahid Qurban Alvi, raided a container of the Euro Gulf Trading and in his report said besides 29 food items, it contained 3,600 bottles of foreign liquor brought into the country illegally.
Justice Alvi on a petition of the Euro Gulf Trading appointed the SHC Nazir, Moinuddin Ahmed, on Dec 20 to ascertain the matter in the presence of the petitioner and the customs intelligence and submit his report on the goods brought into the country.
The petitioner submitted they brought foodstuffs in a container for the embassies of Yemen and Zimbabwe. The customs intelligence expressed suspicion that the container had prohibited goods.
The Nazir inspected, in the presence of both parties, the container at an international berth on Hawkesbay Road and found 3,600 bottles of foreign liquor and 33 food items in it.
Justice Shabbir Ahmed of the Sindh High Court, who is also the administrative judge of the anti-terrorism courts for Karachi division, remanded two accused, Rafiq and Ghaffar, in police custody till Dec 30.
The accused are involved in the kidnapping of a student, Mohammed Abid.
COURT REFERENCE: A full-court reference of the Sindh High Court was held on Monday in the courtroom of the Chief Justice on the demise of 14 advocates.
The advocates for whom the reference was held are Mohammed Ismail Baloch, Ashiq Ali Abdullah, Sheikh Haider A. Rahman, Kazim Husain Jauher, Raza Abbas Naqvi, Sheikh Ejaz Ahmed, J. M. Hayat Qureshi, Kamaluddin, Mirza Abdul Rasheed, Mirza Hanif Baig, Ali Ahmed Fazeel, Mohsin Tayyaba Ali, Iqbal Siddiqui and Zafarullah Khan.
The reference was attended by Chief Justice Saiyed Saeed Ashhad, Justice Sabihuddin Ahmed, Justice Muhammad Roshan Essani, Justice S. A. Sarwana, Justice Zahid Kurban Alvi, Justice Shabbir Ahmed, Justice Ataur Rahman, Justice Sarmad Jalal Osmany, Justice Wahid Bakhsh Brohi, Justice Mushir Alam, Syed Zawwar Husain Jaffery, Justice Zia Perwez, Justice Rehmat Husain Jaferi, Justice Muhammad Sadiq Leghari, Justice Khilji Arif Husain, Justice Amir Hani Muslim, Justice Gulzar Ahmed and Justice Maqbool Baqar.
Chief Justice Saiyed Saeed Ashhad, Advocate-General Sindh Mansoor Ahmed Khan, Deputy Attorney-General Syed Zaki Muhammad, the President of the Sindh High Court Bar Association, Munir A. Malik, the President of the Karachi Bar Association, Jawaid Iftikhar Qazi, and the Vice Chairman of the Sindh Bar Council, Khawaja Mansoor, paid tribute to the deceased advocates.
