KARACHI, April 13: The Sindh High court on Wednesday issued notices to the home and health secretaries and the medical superintendent of the Civil Hospital Karachi in a petition seeking extension of the jail ward for the treatment of ailing and wounded prisoners. The Member Inspection Team (MIT), a court official, had on March 24 sent a reference to Chief Justice Mushir Alam regarding the non-compliance of the order of the then SHC judge, Justice Amir Hani Muslim, who had directed the extension/enlargement of the jail ward for accommodating additional 10 to 12 jail inmates.

The MIT submitted that he had sent the copies of Justice Muslim’s order of Feb 8 to all government functionaries for information and compliance on Feb 9.

He stated that the MS of the civil hospital submitted a letter he had written to the health secretary expressing his inability to carry out this year the extension work of the jail ward, situated at the first floor of an old building on the CHK premises.

The MS in his letter also requested the health secretary to re-appropriate the funds allocated for the extension work of the jail ward for utilizing in other schemes.

The chief justice converted the MIT’s reference into a petition on March 29.

On Wednesday, a division bench headed by the chief justice issued notices to the home secretary, health secretary, the Inspector General of Prisons, the CHK MS and the city police chief and adjourned the hearing to a date to be later fixed by the court’s office.

Earlier on March 29, the court had issued notices to the advocate general, the CHK MS and the IG prisons with a direction to place on record the details of facilities available for jail inmates in hospitals across the province.

Hearing adjourned in missing persons’ case A division bench headed by Justice Muhammed Athar Saeed put off the hearing of two petitions challenging the detention of as many persons, who had been arrested for their alleged involvement in the murder case of a Geo News journalist.

One of the petitions was filed by Zainub Iqbal, a resident of Orangi Town, seeking whereabouts of her brother, Faisal Iqbal.

She submitted that her brother left his North Nazimabad house to visit their maternal aunt on Jan 19 and he had been missing since then.

The woman stated that an application regarding the disappearance of her brother was filed with the Mominabad police station on Jan 28.

She impleaded the home secretary, the Rangers director general, the provincial and city police chiefs, in charge of Special Investigation Unit, the Orangi Town SP and the SHO of the Mominabad police station as respondents.

The other petition was filed by Tasneem Fatima, a resident of North Karachi, seeking the whereabouts of her husband, Syed Muhammed Ali Rizvi.

She submitted that her husband left their house on Feb 6 and did not return. She stated that a report regarding the disappearance of her husband was lodged at the Sir Syed police station by Syed Ahmed Ali Rizvi, brother of the missing man.

On April 8, the petitioners’ counsel, Syed M. Aquil Zaidi, had informed the court that both of his clients had been mentioned in the Wali Babar murder case.

The Gulshan-i-Iqbal SHO in his report submitted that five people, including Faisal and Rizvi, were arrested by a police patrol on April 7 and they disclosed to having killed the journalist.