0
KARACHI, July 22: A division bench of the Sindh High Court adjourned on Tuesday the hearing of a petition agitating the arrest of businessman Saifullah Paracha to Thursday for submission of comments by the Federal Investigation Agency.
Federal government’s counsel Tariq Ali informed the bench, which consisted of Justices Ghulam Nabi Soomro and Azizullah M. Memon, that the FIA needed time to submit its comments on the petition. The bench allowed the agency two days.
According to the FIA counsel, Saifullah Paracha was not offloaded a Thai Air flight at the Karachi airport on July 5 as alleged by his wife, Ms Farhat Paracha. He was cleared by the agency’s immigration staff and allowed to board the flight to Bangkok, for which he had a valid boarding card. The agency is understood to have obtained the relevant passengers manifest from the airline to show that Mr Paracha flew to Bangkok.
The petitioner apprehends that her husband might have been taken to some unknown destination by some other agency if he did board the flight to Bangkok.
The businessman is reported to have been involved in Al Qaeda’s financial transactions.
DETENTION PLEA: The Sindh High Court put off on Tuesday a detained human rights activist’s production plea for consideration on Wednesday.
Deputy Attorney-General Nadeem Azhar Siddiqui was busy in the Supreme Court, and Justice Zahid Kurban Alavi who has replaced Justice S. Ahmed Sarwana as senior member of the division bench seized of a petition against HR activist Krishan Sharma’s detention, observed that he would not like to pass an order in the absence of a federal government law officer and adjourned the hearing till Wednesday.
Representing the petitioner, the detainee’s mother and advocates Syed Ghulam Shah and Noor Naz Agha submitted that Sharma was picked up from Naukot while on his way from Mithi to Karachi on March 21 and had remained in the federal investigation unit’s custody at its Nazimabad detention centre since. He had not been produced in any court nor allowed to see any relative or lawyer.
The petitioner applied for a meeting at the Liaquat Barracks at Saddar to the corps commander as advized by the court on the last date of hearing, but there was no response so far.
The counsel said it was only in their comments in response to the petition that the army authorities stated that Sharma had been arrested and detained for espionage under the Official Secrets Act and that he was to be tried by a field general court martial under the Army Act.
They said a civilian could not be tried by a military court and deprived of the due process of law even if accused of spying under the Supreme Court judgments in Mehram Ali and Liaquat Hussain cases.
They requested the bench, which also has Justice Zia Perwez as its member, to order production of the detainee to ascertain the truth.
NOTICES TO AG, IGP: The same bench issued preadmission notices to the advocate-general, the inspector- general of police and the Landhi jail authorities for July 25 in a petition alleging that an under-trial prisoner was not being allowed to see his counsel or mother.
Petitioner Khanum Nawab Khan submitted through Advocate Saify Ali Khan that her only son, Ashraf Shaheen, a former assistant excise officer, was confined since June 16.
The main accused was not even produced before the trial court along with the main accused. Advocate Saify informed the bench that the home secretary repeatedly asked the jail authorities and the IGP to allow the prisoner to see his counsel in accordance with the rules but the directions were not complied with. The prisoner had a right to be treated in accordance with the law, the lawyer said.
