KARACHI: The Sindh High Court on Friday directed SSP Rao Anwar to file his reply on a petition seeking an inquiry into the confessional statement of a worker of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement regarding his connections with the Indian spy agency Research and Analysis Wing (RAW).

The petition was filed by Najma Tahir, wife of MQM worker Tahir Rehan alias Lamba, who the SSP had alleged was a RAW agent.

The petitioner submitted that her husband was arrested from Mukka Chowk, Azizabad, on Feb 24. Later, SSP Anwar claimed at a press conference that the police had arrested him on April 30.

Take a look: Arrested suspects affiliated with MQM, trained by RAW: SSP

She said that the SSP alleged that her husband had got training from RAW to carry out criminal activities in the city.

The petitioner said that her spouse was tortured by the law-enforcers who coerced him into making such a confessional statement before the media.

She asked the court to order an inquiry into the confessional statement of her spouse regarding his association with RAW.

The petitioner also requested the court to order a medical examination of the suspect to ascertain whether he was tortured.

A division bench headed by Justice Naimatullah Phulpoto issued a notice to the SSP to file his comments and put off the hearing to June 6.

Judgement reserved in delimitation case

A two-judge bench headed by Justice Sajjad Ali Shah reserved its verdict on a petition challenging the powers of the provincial government to carry out delimitation for the local government elections.

The bench heard the final arguments on the matter from the two sides and reserved the verdict to a date to be later pronounced by the court’s office.

The petitioner, Syed Zafar Ali Shah, submitted that in compliance with the Supreme Court orders, the Sindh government promulgated on March 2 the Sindh Local Government (Amendment) Bill, 2015, under which the Sindh government shall determine the number of union councils, union committees and wards in municipal committees and town committees for the LG elections. After demarcation, the election commission shall delimit the union councils, union committees and wards.

He stated that the Sindh government with mala fide intentions retained delimitation powers to commit gerrymandering and the ruling party wanted to win the LG elections through gerrymandering and unlawful means.

The petitioner, represented by Advocate Syed Mureed Ali Shah, said that through this amendment, the provincial authorities shall delimit any council or ward according to wishes and nefarious aims of the ruling party.

Therefore, the petitioner pleaded with the court to declare the Bill’s sections empowering the Sindh government to demarcate boundaries of council and wards instead of the ECP is unconstitutional.

The court was prayed to suspend the operation of the Bill while restraining the Sindh government from demarcating councils and wards.

It was further requested to declare the appointment of assistant commissioners and Mukhtiarkars or any other government officials as delimitation officer or deputy delimitation officers or assistant delimitation officers by the Sindh government as illegal.

Published in Dawn, May 30th, 2015

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