KARACHI, Oct 27: The Sindh High Court ordered on Thursday production of a death row prisoner whose counsel is not available to argue his appeal in the US consulate-general car bombing case of 2002 on the next date of hearing.
Mohammad Imran, chief of the outlawed Harkatul Mujahideen Al Alami, was convicted and sentenced to death by an anti-terrorism court of Karachi in April 2003 along with the organization’s general secretary, Mohammad Hanif. Two activists of the banned outfit, Sharib Arsalan Farooqui and Hafiz Zubair, were awarded life imprisonment.
Co-accused Mohammad Ashraf was acquitted for want of evidence against him and cases of the absconding co-accused were ordered to be kept on the dormant file.
The convicts challenged their conviction and sentences and the state appealed for enhancement of the sentences of the co-accused awarded life terms.
As the appeals came up for hearing on Thursday, a division bench, comprising Justices Mohammad Afzal Soomro and Rehmat Hussain Jaferi, was informed that Imran’s counsel, Advocate Raza Ali Abidi, could not be served notice as he was not available at his address or traceable elsewhere. Advocate Abdul Waheed Katpar, counsel for another appellant, was on general adjournment and Advocate Maqboolur Rehman, also representing an appellant, was out of Karachi.
The bench adjourned the hearing to a date in office, when Imran would be produced to name a new counsel.
According to the prosecution, the accused criminally conspired and drove an explosives-laden pick-up van to the US consulate-general building in Karachi on June 14, 2002. The resulting explosion left 12 people killed and 43 injured.
IMTIAZ’S PLEA: The bench also adjourned the hearing of a petition moved by former revenue minister Imtiaz Ahmed Shaikh for quashment of a kidnapping-for-ransom case against him to Nov 10.
The minister is being tried by an anti-terrorism court along with co-accused Agha Asghar, Nasir Mahmood, Mohammad Zaki, Mohammad Ashfaq and Ateeq Ahmed by an anti-terrorism court. According complainant Mohammad Iqbal, his 17-year-old son Omar Iqbal was kidnapped from Qayyumabad at the behest of Imtiaz Shaikh, who also received the ransom at his Defence residence.
NOTICE TO KESC: A division bench of High Court of Sindh, comprising Justice Musheer Alam and Justice S Ali Aslam Jafri, on Thursday issued notice to respondents/decree holder in an appeal challenging decree in a suit for damages against the public utility organization.
Ms Batool Fatima sued KESC for severing an electricity connection provided to a factory owned by the family. A decree of rupees 6.2 million was granted against KESC which was challenged through the instant appeal.
NOTICES TO NAB: The Sindh High Court on Thursday issued notice to NAB official for Nov 7 on a petition filed by a women against harassment, add agencies.
Ms. Parveen Shaukat submitted that the deputy director (coordination) IW-1 of the NAB had been issuing her notices in connection with an inquiry despite the fact that she submitted her reply and explained her position to the concerned official.
SHC’s division bench, comprising Justice Ghulam Rabbani and Justice Munib Ahmed Khan, after preliminary hearing of the petition issued notice to the NAB and sought comments.
LIST SOUGHT: The Sindh High Court on Thursday directed the Sindh government to provide a list of contractors whom the Sindh Fisheries Department had awarded fishing contracts in fresh water bodies of the province during 2005.
An SHC division bench was hearing the petition of Saeed Baluch and others against the grant of exclusive fishing rights to contractors.
