February 05, 2008	Tuesday	Muharram 26, 1429

KARACHI, Feb 4: The Sindh High Court issued a notice to the advocate-general for Feb 7 in a PPP petition seeking dissolution of the tribunal investigating the Oct 18 blasts at its late chairperson Benazir Bhutto’s welcome rally, but declined to stay the inquiry.

An urgent petition moved by Sindh PPP chief Syed Qaim Ali Shah through Advocates Farooq H. Naek and Adnan Karim came up before a division bench comprising Justices Mahmood Alam Rizvi and Farrukh Zia G. Shaikh on Monday. The petition challenged the Sindh government notification setting up the one-man tribunal and retired Justice Dr Ghous Mohammad’s credentials to conduct the inquiry. His appointment had been questioned by Ms Bhutto herself as he had, as an accountability judge of the Sindh High Court, convicted Mir Munawar Ali Talpur, her brother-in-law, and Pir Mazharul Haq, both former provincial ministers in the PPP government, in 1998. The convictions were set aside by the Supreme Court.

Advocate Naek said the tribunal’s bias had become obvious from its refusal to furnish a copy of the impugned notification and other documents to the petitioner and dismissal of an application in this behalf for non-prosecution.

The tribunal was summoning PPP men and taking coercive actions to enforce their presence as witnesses. It had no authority to convict any accused and its report had no sanctity under the criminal procedure code. The tribunal’s proceedings should be stayed pending the hearing of the petition, the counsel argued.

Advocate-General Dr Mohammad Farogh Naseem said the tribunal had been set up under the West Pakistan Tribunal of Inquiry Act, 1969, the only law under which a probe into the explosions could be instituted. Its purpose was to ascertain the truth by recording evidence and the inquiry proceedings had reached an advanced stage. Dr Ghous Mohammad had served the judiciary for decades and was a former judge of the high court. The AG said he would submit a detailed rejoinder on behalf of the home department on Feb 7, but it was not appropriate to stay the tribunal’s proceedings at this stage.