KARACHI: The Sindh High Court on Thursday issued notices to director general of Sindh Rangers, provincial police officer, provincial home department, advocate general, prosecutor general and area SHOs in a set of petitions seeking whereabouts of missing persons.

The two-judge bench of SHC headed by Justice Aftab Ahmed Gorar, hearing dozens of missing persons’ cases, directed the respondents to submit their comments by May 10.

Petitioner Abdul Reh­man submitted that his six-year-old daughter Najma went missing from Sohrab Goth in December 2016.

Another petitioner contended that her son Mohammad Umar was allegedly picked up in Ferozabad.

The bench summoned the IO in the case of the little girl at the next hearing.

It also directed the Crimes Branch DIG to appear before it on May 15.

Meanwhile, the law officers of Rangers and other law enforcement agencies contended that they were unaware of the disappearances, including that of former MQM sector in-charge Javed Mohajir.

Interim post-arrest bail

Another two-judge bench of SHC granted on Thursday an interim post-arrest bail to a suspect with direction to settle his liabilities with National Accountability Bureau by May 23.

NAB had filed a reference against the applicant, Mohammad Iqbal, and others for fraudulently usurping the plots of Pak Punjab Housing Society in 2009, selling it to public after launching a housing project on the land causing huge loss to the society and defrauding the real owners.

The applicant’s bail was dismissed in November last year along with 15 others, but he managed to evade arrest and obtained interim bail from Supreme Court in February in order to explore ways of settling the loss.

The suspect through his lawyer sought a post-arrest bail. But NAB prosecutor opposed his plea and argued that his plea bargain application had already been declined by the NAB chairman.

The bench headed by Justice Mohammad Iqbal Kalhoro granted him an interim post-arrest bail against a surety bond of Rs500,000 and also directed him to pay Rs250 million to NAB for settlement purposes.

The court also directed the interior ministry to place his name on the Exit Control List and adjourned the hearing till May 23.

Published in Dawn, April 20th, 2018