KARACHI: The Sindh High Court (SHC) on Friday confirmed interim pre-arrest bail of former Sindh chief secretary Siddique Memon and others in a corruption reference.

The former chief secretary along with former land utilisation additional secretary Abdul Qadir Memon and some other officials have been facing trial before an accountability court for illegally allotting six acres in Karachi in 1992, when he was the land utilisation secretary.

The former chief secretary had obtained anticipatory bail in August 2015 after the Nation Accountability Bureau served him a notice for investigation over alleged illegal allotment of land.

After hearing arguments from both sides, a two-judge bench of the SHC headed by Justice Mohammad Iqbal Kalhoro confirmed the interim bails.

NAB had filed a reference against the former chief secretary and others for their alleged involvement in illegal allotment and regularisation of land in Sector 52-A Corridor, Scheme 33, in Karachi for residential and commercial purpose causing a loss of more than Rs5.5 million to the national exchequer.

However, Mr Memon in his bail application contended that the land was allotted in 1992 and regularised in 2008 under the relevant laws. He submitted that the land was neither allotted nor regularised by him.

He further submitted that he was posted as secretary for land utilisation, and when certain facts came to his knowledge he sent the matter to the lands committee which said it had already regularised the land.

Plea against Rao Anwar

Another bench of the SHC issued on Friday notices to the respondents on a petition challenging a notification of home department declaring the house of suspended SSP Rao Anwar as a sub-jail.

The then SSP Malir along with his subordinates has been facing trial before an ATC for allegedly killing Naseemullah, better known as Naqeebullah Mehsud and three others in a staged encounter on Jan 13 in a Malir locality.

Mohammad Khan, father of Naqeeb, through his lawyer Faisal Siddiqui moved the SHC and contended that on April 21, when Rao Anwar was sent to prison on judicial remand by the trial court, home department had issued notification declaring his house as sub-jail and such remarkable speed clearly indicated it was issued with mala fide intentions.

The petitioner further submitted that such favouritism and nepotism in favour of the suspended SSP was clearly mala fide since the notification failed to disclose any credible information about serious threats to his life.

Impleading the home department, jail authorities and Rao Anwar as respondents, he maintained that former SSP’s detention in his own house was simply a continuation of the VVIP treatment being accorded to him and pleaded to declare the notification illegal.

Published in Dawn, June 2nd, 2018