HYDERABAD: A sessions judge on Friday granted bail for a sum of Rs100,000 to the president of Pak Sarzameen Party (PSP), Anis Kaimkhani, in a 1994 arson case in which he was declared a proclaimed offender.

Deputy district public prosecutor opposed Mr Kaimkhani’s bail application on the ground that the accused was a proclaimed offender (PO).

The court had declared him PO after he failed to attend hearing of the case, he said.

Nisar Durrani advocate who represented Mr Kaimkhani contended that his client, who was at present confined in central prison Karachi in Dr Asim Hussain case, had been attending the court regularly until 1999.

He said that since Mr Kaimkhani was in MQM at that time he had the impression that more FIRs would be registered against him and secondly, he was told that the accused had been acquitted in the case in 2003.

He said that his client was not absconding for the purpose of absconding. As far as merits of the case were concerned, only two witnesses — one who had registered the FIR and the other who had prepared memo of place of offence, had been examined. Even complainant of the FIR had not yet been examined by the court so far, he added.

He said that two co-accused Salahuddin and Kanwar Naveed Jamil had been acquitted by trial court and in case of trial of his client it would not lead to his conviction in this case. Therefore, it was a fit case for bail for him.

The court allowed the bail for a sum of Rs100,000 on which PSP activists Raees Arain, Hanif Rajput, Rehan, Faheem Arain and others present in the court distributed sweets among party workers and lawyers.

SHC issues notice to SPSC chief, others

A division bench of Sindh High Court (SHC) Hyderabad circuit here on Thursday issued notice to the Sindh Public Service Commission (SPSC) chairman to appear in person before the court along with comments on a constitutional petition filed by a candidate against the alleged malpractices and corruption of the provincial commission chief.

The bench comprising Justice Salahuddin Panhwar and Justice Ghulam Qadir Leghari also issued notices to the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) chairman and its director general, the auditor general of Pakistan, Sindh audit director general and secretaries of the services & general administration department and health.

Petitioner Dr Saleem Akhtar said that SPSC conducted examinations for post of medical officers (BS-17) on April 26, 2016, in which petitioner appeared with roll No.23880. He could not pass it for some reasons, although he qualified the similar test in 2010 and 2011.

He said that in 2010, the SPSC announced the posts of medical officers in the health department and conducted a test on Oct 12, 2010. He passed the examination with flying colours and was called for an interview on March 21, 2011, but the result shocked him as he was declared unsuccessful.

He said he had appeared in numerous examinations since 2001, but he was dropped in final selection because he was being punished for filing a case against the SPSC.

He was harassed for filing the petition against the commission.

He has prayed to the court to declare that the SPSC failed to perform its prime function of selection on merit and its continuation would cause loss to public and government institutions.

The NAB DG and chairman should be directed to form a joint investigation team (JIT) and initiate a detailed probe pertaining to corruption in the commission and on the basis of final investigation report of the JIT, civil/criminal proceedings be initiated against corrupt officers/officials of the SPSC, he added.

He requested the court to declare the act of the SPSC chairman of selecting candidates on the basis of nepotism, favouritism and corruption by killing merit was patently illegal and unlawful.

Published in Dawn, July 30th, 2016