KARACHI, July 11: The Sindh High Court took a serious view of non-compliance of its orders in a number of petitions and adjourned their hearing to July 19 with a direction of strict compliance on that date.
A division bench, comprising Justices Anwar Zaheer Jamali and Mohammad Afzal Soomro, meanwhile, disposed of petitions for recovery of Pasban-i-Aaza leader Liaquat Hasnain Naiyar and Nisar Haider of Jafaria Alliance when the petitioners’ counsel, Rasheed A Razvi informed it that the two detainees had since been released and returned home.
In the petitions seeking production and recovery of Abdur Rauf Sasoli, deputy secretary-general of Jamhoori Watan Party, Salim Baloch, Vice-President of JWP, Saeed Brohi, chief of the Karachi JWP, Brahim Swaleh, Muneer Ahmed Mengal and Abdul Rehman Baloch alias Rehman Dakait, the court noted that its orders had not been complied with as pointed out by Advocate Noor Naz Agha and other counsel for the petitioners.
It was a matter of grave concern that the federal and provincial governments were not taking steps to investigate disappearance of citizens even when such disappearance was attributed to their agencies.
According to his brother’s petition, Abdur Rauf Sasoli was picked up from the Safari Park gate in January while his companion, who witnessed the incident, was taken into custody in March, Salim Baloch was also held in March.
Muneer Mengal, managing director of the Dubai-based Baloch Voice television channel, was arrested on his arrival from Dubai on April 4. His wife moved a petition saying he was first detained at the airport by the Federal Investigation Agency’s immigration officials and later taken into custody by the personnel of some law enforcement agency after his clearance.
The FIA and the Sindh police submitted that they had nothing to do with the arrest or confinement of Muneer Mengal and the court asked the federal ministries of defence and interior to ascertain their whereabouts and file comments.
The defence and interior secretaries were asked to submit affidavits on behalf of all the agencies working under them. When the petitioner’s counsel, Rasheed A Razvi, pointed out that no affidavit had so far been filed by the defence secretary, Deputy Attorney-General Akhtar Ali Mehmood stated that the various agencies were investigating the matter and an affidavit would be submitted after completion of investigations.
Brahim Swaleh was picked up by unknown people in November 2005 when he went to a bank at Mauripur to obtain a draft for Rs 2.5 million. His cousin, Farooq, who was also held with him, was later freed. A petition agitating the matter was disposed of as not pressed. Swaleh continued to be detained and his wife moved a fresh petition.
According to the petition, Farooq said on his release that his and Swaleh’s captors wanted to know who paid him Rs2.5 million for bank draft. Swaleh told them that he was an estate dealer and required a draft for sale and purchase of property.
Farooq said he and Swaleh were kept somewhere near Quetta and he was brought to a Quetta bazaar for release after about 15 minutes’ drive. The captives were held incommunicado in small cells, the petition alleged.
