KARACHI, June 29: The Sindh High Court granted interim prearrest bail to sacked revenue minister Imtiaz Ahmed Sheikh in a kidnapping-for-ransom case on Wednesday in the sum of Rs 200,000. The trial anti-terrorism court has issued non-bailable warrants for the arrest of the accused, who is also a central office-bearer of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League, and other absconders. The case involves the kidnapping of Umer Iqbal from Qayyumabad in June 2003.
According to a complaint lodged by Zafar Iqbal with the Korangi police station, Umer, his 17-year-old son, was kidnapped from his house in Qayyumabad on June 28, 2003, by Mahfooz Ahmed, Agha Asghar, Nasir Mahmood, Mehmood Zakir and Mohammad Ashfaq at the behest of Imtiaz Sheikh and Ateeq Ahmed Siddiqui. They phoned his wife later and demanded Rs 1.5 million for his release.
The complainant alleged that the ransom amount was subsequently reduced and Umer was freed on payment of Rs 700,000. The payment was made at the Defence residence of Imtiaz Sheikh.
Mahfooz Ahmed is the only accused facing trial. He was nabbed on May 3 last. The remaining accused have been declared absconders.
Appearing for Imtiaz Sheikh, Advocate Raja Qureshi submitted that his client was innocent and had nothing to do with the offence. He has been falsely implicated in the case as part of his victimization by the chief minister. He wanted to surrender before the court.
A division bench, comprising Justices M. Mujibullah Siddiqui and Maqbool Baqar, granted pre-arrest bail to the accused subject to his furnishing security amounting to Rs 200,000 to the SHC nazir till July 11.
NOTICE TO VARSITY: Another division bench, comprising Justices Sarmad Jalal Osmany and Amir Hani Muslim, issued notices to the University of Sindh, Jamshoro, in a petition moved by Prof Dr Abdullah Dayo, chairman of pharmaceutics, University of Sindh, to challenge the appointment of Prof Dr Mohammad Usman Memon, chairman, department of pharmaceutical chemistry, as the dean of the university’s faculty of pharmacy. The petitioner’s counsel, Mohammad Nawaz Shaikh, argued that his name was initially recommended for the position on seniority-cum-fitness basis but was later dropped in favour of Dr Memon.
PLEA DISPOSED OF: The bench disposed of a petition against the preventive detention of Pakistan Telecommunication Company Employees Union chief, Haji Khan Bhatti, under the Maintenance of Public Order Ordinance when Additional Advocate-General M. Ahmed Pirzada showed it a home department communication withdrawing the detention order.
The petitioner’s counsel, A.K. Memon and Mohammad Nehal Hashmi, however, submitted that he was still being confined by the law enforcement agencies. The bench told them that they were free to re-agitate the matter. Bhatti and other PTCL union leaders were detained on the eve of sale of 26 per cent shares of the company.
AFREEN CASE: Justice Azizullah M. Memon, meanwhile, granted adjournment of hearing of a state plea against district and session judge (south) Agha Rafiq Ahmed Khan’s ruling that Advocate M. Ilyas Khan was disqualified from acting as public prosecutor in the Afreen Baig murder case. The ruling came on accused husband Farooq Mengal’s application that the lawyer having earlier represented the complainant in the case, was incapable of conducting the case impartially.
The state contested the plea and filed a revision petition against the ruling through the advocate-general. Assistant Advocate-General Habib Ahmed appeared on Wednesday and sought another adjournment as the advocate-general himself wanted to argue the petition.
Advocate Azizullah Shaikh contested the adjournment plea as the transfer of police papers in the case for adjudication of the revision petition had held up the trial court proceedings. He said his client’s bail application was due to come up for hearing on July 4.
Justice Memon ordered return of the papers and warned Advocate Raza Hashmi, the complainant’s counsel, to be careful in the future.
The court observed that he interrupted Advocate Azizullah Shaikh ‘in a most derogatory manner’ on Wednesday.
