KARACHI, April 13: The Sindh High Court asked a federal attorney on Thursday to make a more specific statement in respect of the alleged detention of Dr Safdar Sarki, secretary-general of Jiay Sindh Qaumi Mahaz, and adjourned further hearing of the matter to April 19.
Federal government standing counsel Ziauddin Nasir submitted that he had made contacts with the army authorities through the Corps 5 headquarters and had been told by them that they had nothing to do with the arrest or custody of the alleged detainee.
Advocates Nooruddin Sarki and Syed Ghulam Shah said the detainee was in the custody of the Inter Services Intelligence and was being kept in the Napier Barracks in Karachi. They maintained that the statement made by the counsel was too vague to amount to a categoric denial. He should have made a submission on behalf of the agency.
Justices Ghulam Rabbani and Gulzar Ahmed, who constitute the division bench seized of the petition moved by Dr Sarki brother, asked the counsel to obtain information from the ISI and place it before the court on April 19.
PUBLICITY TAX: Mobile publicity was taxable by the city district government under the Sindh Local Government Ordinance, 2001, CDG counsel Manzoor Ahmed told a division bench comprising Justices M. Mujibullah Siddiqui Mohammad Moosa K. Leghari.
He was making his rejoinder to a courier company’s claim that it was plying its vehicles for transportation of parcels meant for despatch and delivery. The vehicles carried the company’s name only for identification.
Advocate Ahmed said the company was admittedly plying vehicles carrying its name and logo. The vehicles publicized its name and slogan as they moved on roads. The bench brought his counter-affidavit on record and adjourned further hearing to a date in office.
Conviction set aside: Sindh High Court Thursday set aside conviction of banned Lashkar-i-Jhangvi activist in a rocket attack case and acquitted him of charges, adds PPI.
Sabir Ali Waseem was sentenced to 30 years in prison by an anti-terrorism court in Karachi on June 7, 2003, for firing an anti-tank rocket (BM-107) that pierced through the wall of Government Commerce College on Dr Ziauddin Ahmed Road Karachi on Nov 23, 2001.
Prosecution alleged that the accused, along with absconding co-accused Asif Ramzi, wanted to kill foreigners, staying in the nearby hotel, by rocket attack but they missed the target and the rocket hit the wall of the college. No person was killed or injured in the attack.
Arguing an appeal, appellant’s counsel Amir Mansoob Qureshi contended that prosecution case was full of doubts as there was material contradiction in statement of prosecution witnesses.
He argued that investigation of case was defective and it failed to establish the case against appellant. He prayed the court to acquit the appellant of charges.
Assistant Advocate General Sindh Habib Ahmed supported the prosecution case and prayed thecourt to dismiss the appeal.
SHC’s division bench, comprising Justice Rehmat Hussain Jaffery and Justice Ali Sain Dino Metlo, after hearing arguments and perusal of record of the case, for reasons to be recorded later, allowed the appeal and ordered the release of the appellant if not involved in other cases.
