KARACHI: The Sindh High Court on Monday directed the director general of Rangers, provincial police chief, home secretary and others to file their respective replies on three different but identical petitions seeking whereabouts of as many ‘missing persons’ who were believed to have been picked up by the law enforcement agencies (LEAs).

A two-judge bench headed by Justice Naimatullah Phulpoto was hearing the petitions seeking recovery of the three missing persons — Anwarul Haq, Mairajuddin and Faizan Khan — who were allegedly arrested by the law enforcers in different parts of the city on separate occasions.

Anwarul Haq’s wife Zobia, a resident of Federal B. Area, submitted in her petition that the personnel of the law enforcement agencies raided her house on Aug 15 and whisked away her husband.

She said that she and other family members approached the high-ups of the paramilitary force and area police, but to no avail as the officials contacted feigned ignorance about the arrest and detention of her husband.

The woman prayed to the court to direct the respondent authorities to recover and produce her husband in court.

The mother of missing young man Faizan stated in her petition that her son was picked up by 20 to 25 plain-clothed personnel of law enforcement agencies from her house in Liaquatabad on Oct 25 and since then there was no clue to his whereabouts.

She complained that she contacted the area police and law enforcement agencies officials to ascertain the whereabouts of her son, but they did not inform her and other family members about her son.

Petitioner Farhana Mairaj submitted in her petition that her husband Mairajuddin was picked up on Sept 27 by some unknown persons when he was at his shop located in Al-Falah Society in Shah Faisal Colony.

She said she visited the area police station and other offices of the law enforcement agencies concerned to gain information about her detained husband, but in vain as the officials concerned did not disclose his whereabouts.

The three petitioners who impleaded DG Rangers Sindh, inspector general of Sindh police, home secretary and SHOs of police stations concerned — Azizabad, Liaquatabad and Shah Faisal — as the respondents, prayed to the court to direct the respondents to recover and produce the detainees before the court.

While seeking comments from the respondent authorities, the SHC bench also put the deputy attorney general, advocate general and prosecutor general on notice and put off the hearing to a date to be later pronounced by the court’s office.

SBC irregularities case

Meanwhile, a two-judge bench directed the petitioner to file his rejoinder on the reply of the Sindh Bar Council in his petition against the alleged financial irregularities and unauthorised payments of millions of rupees in the past 10 years in the SBC — a statutory body that issued licences to law practitioners.

The petition was filed by a former SBC vice-president, Barrister Salahuddin Ahmed, who impleaded the SBC, advocate general, provincial law and parliamentary affairs secretary and Pakistan Bar Council as respondents.

He said the present council including him was elected for a five-year term in 2014 and he resigned as member of the executive council on March 15 mainly over the failure of the SBC to properly fulfil its statutory functions and responsibilities.

He said that no budget of the SBC was presented before the full council for its approval or authorisation for the past several years as required under Rule 30 of the SBC rules.

The petitioner stated that the maximum travelling allowance (TA) and daily allowance (DA) permitted to a council member for attending council/committee meeting was reimbursement of economy class airfare/first class train fare and Rs500 per day respectively under Rules 75 and 76 of the SBC rules.

“However, on June 20, 2015 the Council’s Executive Committee decided, on its own accord, to grant a composite sum of up to Rs24,000 per day rather than making the same subject to production of air/train ticket,” he added.

Barrister Salahuddin said the committee decision also permitted for payment of additional daily allowance if a council member arrived a day earlier than the meeting or departed a date after the meeting.

As a result, he said, in 2016 alone, an exorbitant sum of Rs4,269,525, approximately about 25 per cent of the total expenditure of the council, was expended merely on the TA/DA of council members.

The former SBC vice president said that another example of expending money of the council in a manner not authorised by law was the expenditure of Rs9,575,940 just on staff salaries and a further sum of Rs1,194,368 on staff conveyance allowance in 2016, that amounted to around 50pc of the council`s total expenditure. On Monday, the SBC filed its comments denying all charges.

The bench directed the petitioner to file rejoinder to the SBC’s reply and adjourned the hearing to a date to be later pronounced by the court’s office.

Published in Dawn, November 21st, 2017