KARACHI, Dec 29: The authorities in Karachi on Monday issued passport to a woman within hours after a division bench of the Sindh High Court reprimanded an assistant director of the Passport and Immigration Department for disobeying the orders of the court passed on Nov 21.
The bench, comprising Justice Ata-ur-Rahman and Zia Pervez, was hearing a contempt application filed by Zeenat Begum who had applied for a passport on March 3 in Karachi.
Akhtar Rehana, appearing for the applicant/petitioner, submitted that the petitioner is required to leave the country for her marriage. She maintained that following her engagement, the applicant applied for a Pakistani passport and paid the fee for an urgent passport, but when she went to collect her passport the next day, she was informed that she appears to be of Burmese origin, and she cannot be issued a passport.
The petitioner submitted all documents before the officials to prove that her entire family was of Pakistan origin, and had valid national identity cards and other documents.
Upon refusal, she filed a constitutional petition. A bench of the SHC, comprising Justice Zahid Kurban Alavi and Justice Zia Pervez, on Nov 21 disposing of the petition, ordered the official, to issue a passport after verification of the petitioner’s documents.
The petitioner approached the official concerned, who did not implement the court orders.
The petitioner then moved a contempt application which was heard on Monday. During hearing, the bench took strong exception to non-implementation of the court orders.
The bench, however, gave a last chance to the official and then put off the hearing till Wednesday.
The official, however, issued a passport to the applicant on Monday afternoon.
ORDER RESERVED: A division bench of the Sindh High Court, comprising Justice Sarmad Jalal Osmany and Justice Rehmat Hussain Jaffery, on Monday reserved judgment on a petition filed by Kausar Parveen, wife of Ziaul Islam, former joint secretary of the interior ministry, challenging the arrest of her husband by the NAB authorities.
When the matter was taken up on Monday, NAB’s counsel Amanullah Khan told the court that a reference against petitioner’s spouse had been filed and he would be tried in the accountability court. He pleaded the court to dismiss the petition as it was not maintainable.
Ziaul Islam was arrested by the NAB authorities on Dec 1 in Islamabad. He was remanded to jail by the magistrate concerned.
The petitioner filed a constitutional petition in the SHC submitting that the NAB officials have arrested her husband without giving any valid reason. She prayed to the court to declare his detention illegal and to order his release on bail.
The court after hearing arguments from both sides reserved its judgement for Dec 30.
REMAND EXTENDED: Acting administrative judge of the Anti-Terrorism Courts in Karachi, Arshad Noor Khan, on Monday extended the police remand of accused Imtiaz Hussain, an activist of the banned Sipah-i-Mohammad, till Jan 3 in a sectarian killing case.
He was produced before the court by the police and extension of his physical remand was sought by the investigation officer.—APP/PPI
