KARACHI: Law officer seeks time for comments on Mansur’s plea
KARACHI, July 5: The federal law officer on Tuesday sought time before the Sindh High Court for obtaining comments from the concerned department on a petition by the ex-Naval chief, Mansurul Haq, against ban on his travel abroad. The petitioner, who fought two wars in his 43 years service, said on account of placement of his name on the ECL he had been facing hardships.
He submitted that he wanted to travel abroad for his medical treatment and performing Umra, but due to placement of his name on the ECL, he could not travel abroad. His counsel Azizullah K Sheikh sought deletion of his client’s name from the ECL.
SHC’s division bench comprising Justice Ataur Rehman and Justice Khilji Arif Hussain, granting time to the standing counsel, Faisal Arab, adjourned the hearing till July 8.
Mansurul Haq, with Commodore (Retd) Mirza Ashfaq Baig, was convicted by an accountability court in Karachi for causing a loss of over Rs1.8 billion to the national exchequer in the procurement of three vessels for PNSC.
However, their conviction was turned down by the high court. Against the High Court order, the NAB filed an appeal in Supreme Court, which is still pending since last year.
LOAN CASE: The Sindh High Court on Tuesday allowing applications of four ex-directors of the Spectrum Fisheries quashed proceeding against them in a loan default case.
Irslan Siddiqui, Bushra, Rena and Moosa were booked on a complaint by the Bank Al-Falah under Section 20 of financial institutions (recovery of finance) Ordinance on account of failure of the company to repay a loan of Rs55 million obtained from consortium of banks.
The contention of the applicants’ counsel, Ahmed Hasan Rana, was that his clients had nothing to do with such a loan. He said that the loan was obtained by other directors of the company and prayed the court to quash proceedings against them pending in the trial court.
SHC’s division bench, comprising Justice Sarmad Jalal Osmany and Justice Azizullah M Memon, after hearing the case observed that nothing had appeared on record to establish case against the applicant as they had resigned as directors of the company.
CASE TRANSFERRED: The quashment matter of ex-President of Habib Bank Limited in a banking offence was sent to Chief Justice of Sindh High Court for appointment of a referee judge following a split verdict returned by a division bench of SHC, comprising Justices Sarmad Jalal Osmany and Justice Azizullah M Memon Tuesday.
Younus Dalia is accused of misusing power by unlawfully releasing two securities against a loan to Alif Textile. The securities included two residential bungalows of outgoing directors of the company, and thus caused a loss to the bank to the tune of Rs18.580 million.
The court after hearing arguments from applicant’s counsel Raja Qureshi and standing counsel Mehmood Alam Rizvi reserved the judgment last month which was announced on Tuesday.
Justice Osmany, allowing the application, quashed the proceedings pending against ex-HBL chief Mohammad Yonus Dalia in banking court, observing there was hardly any possibility of the applicant being convicted of the crime of criminal breach of trust as per prosecution case.
He observed nothing had been brought on record to establish that the applicant attempted or caused any loss to the bank through release of guarantee and properties of outgoing directors.
Justice Azizullah M Memon dismissed the application. He was of the opinion that in order to record proper findings, each document provided in the case by the prosecution should be dealt properly by the trial court to see whether the applicant did or did not carry any criminal intention, observing genuineness could not be assessed otherwise.
WARRANTS ISSUED: An anti-terrorism court in Karachi on Tuesday repeated non-bailable warrants for the arrest of sacked provincial revenue minister Imtiaz Ahmed Shaikh and five other absconding co-accused in a kidnapping for ransom case.
ATC Judge Haq Nawaz Baloch, issuing non-bailabale warrants, also ordered the police to post such warrants at the residence of the sacked minister and others. The next hearing of the case was fixed for July 14.
Mahfooz Ahmed, an alleged associate of the sacked provincial minister, was arrested in the case.
The case was registered against Imtiaz Sheikh and other co-accused Agha Asghar, Nasir Mehmood, Mehmood Zakir, Mohammad Ashfaq and Ateeq Ahmed Siddiqui on a complaint by Zafar Iqbal.
They are charged with kidnapping Umer Iqbal for ransom on June 28, 2003, from Qayyumabad.
The complainant alleged in the FIR lodged at Korangi police station on March 28 that the accused kidnapped his son from his house on the directives of Imtiaz Sheikh and Ateeq Ahmed Siddiqui and threatened his wife to pay Rs1.5 million as ransom for his release.
Abductee was later released on payment of Rs700,000 at the residence of Imtiaz Sheikh in DHA. The police arrested Mahfooz on May 3.—PPI
