June 18, 2008	Wednesday	Jamadi-us-Sani 13, 1429

KARACHI, June 17: Justice Qamaruddin Bohra of the Sindh High Court adjourned on Tuesday the hearing of a provincial government plea against registration of a second FIR lodged by the late Pakistan People’s Party chairperson, Ms Benazir Bhutto, in respect of the Karsaz bomb blasts here that left about 140 dead and many more injured at her massive reception on Oct 18, 2007.

The Bahadurabad police station, in the remit of which the carnage occurred, registered a case based on the version of policemen present on the scene but Ms Bhutto wanted her own complaint registered as the first information report. The police offered to incorporate her version a supplementary statement but declined to register a second FIR.

The PPP leader moved sessions court of District South against the police refusal and Agha Rafiq Ahmed Khan, the then district and sessions judge, directed the police on November 5, 2007, to register her complaint as the second FIR in the case under Section 22-B of the code of criminal procedure.

The provincial government challenged the order by moving a revision application and Justice Mohammad Afzal Soomro, the then chief justice, stayed its operation by an interim order on Nov 6 pending the hearing of the application.

As the application came up for hearing on Tuesday, Additional Advocate-General Masood A. Noorani sought adjournment to seek fresh instructions from the provincial home department. Allowing the request, Justice Bohra adjourned the hearing to a date to be fixed by the court office. Advocate Adnan Karim appeared for the respondent, Ms Bhutto.

Bail for driver

Justice Mrs Yasmin Abbasy, meanwhile, granted interim bail before arrest to the driver of a car involved in a collision at the Khayaban-i-Hafiz and Khayaban-i-Mohafiz crossing in Defence Housing Authority that killed 26-year-old business executive Salman Abbas Shaikh on May 21. Hasan Nawaz, a cousin of the deceased, was seriously injured in the accident. The Gizri police registered a case on the complaint of Salman’s father, Mohammad Abbas Shaikh.

Driver Farhan Gul’s counsel, Adnan Karim, submitted that offence under Section 320 (causing death by negligent driving) was bailable and the applicant was ready to join and co-operate in the investigation.

Without going into the merits, the judge admitted him to protective bail for a period of two days subject to his furnishing security in the sum of Rs50,000 and a personal bond in the like amount to the satisfaction of the nazir of the court. She directed the applicant to join the investigation and co-operate with the investigation officer, failing which the bail order would stand cancelled without further notice. The applicant, according to his counsel, furnished the security and joined the investigation.

Release of assets

The members of the family of former government servant Khan Mohammad Maher have, meanwhile, approached the court for release of their properties. They said the application for release of properties was inadvertently tagged on to Maher’s plea for quashment of proceedings against him under the National Reconciliation Ordinance.

A division bench dismissed his plea holding that the NRO provisions were not attracted to his case. Inadvertently, however, the applications moved by his family members against forfeiture of their properties were also evidently covered by the dismissal order. They requested the court to recall and modify its order to ensure release and restoration of their properties.

Cancer patient’s plea

The SHC office issued summons to defendants in a damages suit seeking recovery of Rs40 million. Instituted by Abdul Majid through Advocate Nasir Maqsood, it cited a multinational pharmaceutical concern and its local distributors as defendants. The plaintiff alleged that the vials of MabThera purchased by him for his cancer treatment were found tampered. He suffered distress caused by apprehensions that the contents of the vials could further complicate his ailment and intensify his agony.