KARACHI, July 3: The Sindh High Court issued notices to the authorities concerned in an application moved by a fugitive Pakistani American for his blood and DNA tests in another advanced country besides the US.
Haris Hasan, who is facing extradition proceedings at a US request for having committed criminal offences at Detroit (Michigan), said in his application that the US Federal Bureau of Investigation, which is to carry out tests at its laboratory in Washington, is an interested party. The tests should also be ordered to be conducted by a duly-equipped independent agency in a neutral country.
A division bench, comprising Justices S. Ahmed Sarwana and Mushir Alam, directed that notices be issued to the federal and provincial authorities concerned for July 17.
The accused is to face a fresh preliminary inquiry under the Extradition Act on receipt of the FBI laboratory report by the end of August. He was earlier exonerated for lack of evidence.
PEARL CASE: Hearing of appeals in US journalist Daniel Pearl’s kidnapping and murder case was on Thursday adjourned because of counsel’s absence.
Ahmed Omar Shaikh, the main accused, was condemned to death while accomplices Salman Saqib, Sheikh Mohammad Adil and Fahd Naseem were awarded life terms by an anti-terrorist court at Hyderabad in July 2002. They were also fined Rs 500,000 each and ordered to pay the victim’s heirs Rs 2 million in compensation.
When the appeals came up for hearing on Thursday, the Sindh High Court appellate bench, comprising Justices Anwar Zaheer Jamali and M. Mujibullah Siddiqui, was informed that state counsel Raja Qureshi was on general adjournment. One of the appellants’ counsel, Khwaja Naveed Ahmed, was also not present. The bench adjourned the hearing to a date in office.
PETITION DISMISSED: An election tribunal, comprising Justice Mohammad Sadiq Leghari, dismissed on Thursday a petition moved by Abdul Rahim Khoso of the PML (Q) against PPP’s Mir Hazar Khan Bijarani. They contested the Oct 12, 2002, polls for NA-209 (Jacobabad). Bijarani bagged the seat but Khoso challenged his election as an outcome of rigging. The tribunal dismissed the allegation.
