July 10, 2008	Thursday	Rajab 6, 1429

KARACHI, July 9: The Sindh High Court restrained the police from arresting Mehar (Dadu) Taluka Nazim Karim Ali Jatoi, former senator and MPA Sadaqat Ali Jatoi, Faiz Ali Jatoi and five others pending their writ petitions seeking quashment of three FIRs registered against them in respect of the same incident.

Karim Jatoi and Faiz Jatoi, sons of former federal minister Liaquat Ali Khan Jatoi, Sadaqat Ali Jatoi, son of the late Abdul Hameed Jatoi and brother of Liaquat Jatoi, ex-MPA Syed Mohammad Shah, Ali Mohammad Soomro, Bulla Khan, Hassan Shah and Saeed Ahmad Soomro had sought bail in the impugned FIRs 121, 124 and 125 of 2008 registered by the Dadu police.

Their counsel, Advocate Raja Qureshi, submitted before Justice Khwaja Naveed Ahmed that the applicants had filed writ petitions to assail the registration of a murder case against them under three FIRs.

The petition is awaiting hearing by a division bench. He argued that legal protection was essential to safeguard the honour, safety and dignity of the applicants, who were being targeted by their political opponents. They could be subjected to “advance punishment” if no protection was afforded to them, the counsel contended.

The lawyer said the case related to an armed clash on the eve of the February 18 polls in which one person was killed. No specific role was assigned to any of the applicants in the first FIR (No.121).

However, a second FIR of the incident implicated all of them. Yet another FIR also sought to implicate the applicants but was quashed by a magistrate.