KARACHI, June 7: A division bench of the Sindh High Court transferred on Tuesday a writ petition challenging the arrest and detention of Akhtar Sultana, Jam Saqi’s wife, to another vacation bench for hearing on Wednesday. One of the members of division the bench, Justice Amir Hani Muslim, had remanded the detainee till June 10 for investigation of the kidnapping-for-ransom case against her on Monday in his capacity as administrative judge for the Karachi division’s anti-terrorism courts. The bench, which has Justice Sarmad Jalal Osmany as its senior member, accordingly transferred the petition to the bench comprising Justices M. Mujibullah Siddiqui and Maqbool Baqar for hearing on Wednesday.
The petition, filed by Advocates Syed Iqbal Haider and Rasheed A. Razvi, says that the detainee had been arrested and confined on cooked-up charges of kidnapping her own nephew. She and Jam Saqi had been booked only because the latter visited the chief minister’s village in Thar as a member of a fact-finding mission sent by the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan to investigate a widow’s allegations against the chief minister.
ILLEGAL DETENTION: In the habeas corpus petition of seven doctors and students of Balochistan, the division bench was informed that Imdad Baloch and three others had since been released while three of the detenus were still being held in custody.
One of the freed detainees informed the bench that he was kept blindfolded for 18 days. He knew nothing about the identity of those who detained him. He said he was intensively questioned about his links with terrorists carrying out explosions in Balochistan.
Advocate Abdul Hafeez Lakho said innocent citizens were being picked up and kept in illegal confinement on mere suspicion.
He cited the example of two Karachi boys who were released recently after eight months of confinement.
Deputy Attorney-General Sajjad Ali Shah submitted that according to the ministry of defence, which he contacted, the alleged detainees had not been arrested by any military agency. The bench reminded him that it had sought a reply from the ministry of interior. The hearing was adjourned to June 13 for comments from the interior ministry.
Advocate Suleiman Habibullah said detained Moulvi Amanullah Rais was arrested by a CIA inspector in March and was still being held in illegal custody. The bench asked the CIA DIG to file an affidavit in rejoinder within a week.
Additional Advocate-General Abbas Ali informed the bench that detention orders in respect of Sher Bahadur Khan, Mirza Siraj and Mohammad Haneef Kakar, secretary-general of the oil tankers association, had been withdrawn.
The division bench comprising Justices M. Mujibullah Siddiqui and Maqbool Baqar, meanwhile, dismissed two bail petitions moved by Noor Qadir Tawakkal, co-accused in an accountability cases with his father, Abdul Qadir Tawakkal.
NAB prosecutor Mohammad Riaz argued that the petitioner had failed to make out a case for his release on bail.
POWER RESTORED: The bench comprising Justices Osmany and Memon ordered the restoration of electricity connection of two marble factories in North Karachi subject to their depositing Rs2 million with the SHC nazir. The KESC had severed their supply on their failure to clear their outstanding dues amounting to Rs9.6 million.
KESC counsel Khalid Mahmood Siddiqui submitted that the petitioner factories had withheld payment of their dues under the cover of interim orders obtained by them in a large number of suits and petitions. The KESC waited till the dismissal or disposal of the cases before moving against them
The bench appointed former justice Wahid Bux Brohi as commissioner for looking into the dispute and determine the petitioner concerns’ liability. His fee would be paid by the petitioners. In the meanwhile, their power connection would be restored on payment of Rs2 million to the SHC nazir as security deposit.
