May 21, 2003	Wednesday	Rabi-ul-Awwal 18

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ISLAMABAD, May 20: The Supreme Court on Tuesday issued notice to the government of Sindh on the bail application of three persons accused of murdering former governor of Sindh Hakim Mohammed Said.

The three-member bench took up the main appeal, filed by the Sindh government against the acquittal of all nine accused, but it could not be heard as the provincial government’s representative was not present.

Advocate Raja Abdul Ghafoor informed the court that the AG Sindh had received the notice on Monday, and could not arrive as seats were not available at such a short notice.

At this, the counsel for the accused said that earlier an application for grant of bail had been disposed of with the direction that the main appeal would be heard and decided.

He said now when the main appeal was not being heard, his clients should be granted bail as they had been acquitted by the Sindh High Court. He said he had filed a fresh bail application. The court issued notice to the Sindh AG on the bail application but gave no fixed date for hearing.

The trial court had awarded death penalty to nine persons for the murder of Hakim Said and two others, but the Sindh High Court had acquitted all of them by giving them the benefit of doubt.

The Supreme Court had, on a appeal of the Sindh government, suspended the operation of SHC judgment and issued non-bailable warrants of all the accused. Out of nine, only three — Mohammad Zubair, Nadeem alias Nadeem Mota, and Abu Imran — are in custody, while the remaining six are absconding.

The Sindh government has taken the stance that their appeal could not be heard till the time all the accused were apprehended and lodged in jail and if the court wanted to hear their appeals, it should modify its leave granting order. The office of the Supreme Court would now fix the date of hearing.