KARACHI: The wife of Uzair Baloch, a leader of the Lyari gang warfare and chief of the proscribed Peoples Amn Committee, on Monday approached the Sindh High Court seeking her and other family members’ meeting with her spouse who is in Rangers’ custody.

Ms Samina filed a constitutional petition through her attorney, Advocate Saify Ali Khan, asking the court to also allow her counsel to have an exclusive meeting with the alleged leader of the gangland on a weekly basis.

Advocate Saify told Dawn that the petition would come up for preliminary hearing on Tuesday before a two-judge bench.

The petitioner alleged that her husband’s father, Faiz Mohammad Baloch, had been kidnapped and murdered by a militant wing of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement and Arshad Puppu. She said her husband was later booked in a false case when he started struggling to lodge an FIR against the murderers of his father.

The petitioner said various human rights organisations indicated that violence in Karachi could either be due to incompetence of the government or some hidden hands. Later, she said, a large number of criminal cases against political figures were registered on political grounds.

The petitioner said Uzair gained popularity which was unacceptable to the Pakistan Peoples Party top leadership after he did not accept the nomination of Owais Muzaffar Tappi as an MNA from Lyari. She said the PPP joined hands with the MQM to eliminate Peoples Amn committee and its leadership and her husband was booked in several cases.

However, the Sindh government later withdrew the cases, which was ample proof that the cases were false.

The petitioner said her husband left the country to save his life, as he was not acceptable to the PPP leadership.

She said the federal government issued red warrants for the arrest of her husband without adopting due legal process. She said her husband was arrested at Dubai airport on Dec 27, 2014 while he was travelling with his family to Muscat.

Since then, she said, she did not have any knowledge about her husband and she saw his appearance over a week ago on Jan 30 before the administrative judge of the antiterrorism courts.

The petitioner asked the SHC to direct the Rangers to allow her, her mother-in-law and other family members to meet Uzair who is confined at Mitharam Hostel, a sub-jail being used by the paramilitary Rangers.

She further asked the court to direct the paramilitary personnel to arrange medical check-ups and facilities for her husband as and when required. She also requested the court to allow her counsel to visit Uzair Baloch on a weekly basis to obtain instructions from him.

Published in Dawn, February 9th, 2016