KARACHI: The Sindh High Court on Friday expressed displeasure over the absence of a counsel representing suspended SSP Rao Anwar in a petition challenging a notification of declaring his house a sub-jail.

The then SSP Malir along with his subordinates has been facing trial before an antiterrorism court for allegedly killing Naseem Ullah, 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 moved the SHC.

When the petition came up for hearing before the two-judge bench of the SHC headed by Justice Syed Hasan Azhar Rizvi on Friday, advocate Abid Zuberi, counsel for Rao Anwar, was found absent.

The bench expressed resentment over his absence and directed to ensure his presence on July 2.

The petitioner contended that on April 21, when Rao Anwar was sent to prison on judicial remand by trial court, the home department had issued a notification declaring his house sub-jail and such remarkable speed clearly indicated that it was issued with mala fide intentions and even otherwise, clearly showed that it must have been pre-dated.

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 regarding serious threats to his life.

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

Published in Dawn, June 30th, 2018