KARACHI: The Sindh High Court on Tuesday granted time to the chief secretary to file comments on a petition against issuance of domiciles to non-residents of Karachi.

The petition was filed by Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan leader Khwaja Izharul Hasan and others against the issuance of domiciles and permanent residence certificates (PRCs) to people not living in the provincial metropolis.

The petitioners also sought formulation of a policy with regards to the issuance of such important documents.

When the matter came up for hearing before a two-judge bench headed by Justice Mohammad Ali Mazhar on Tuesday, an additional advocate general (AAG) filed comments on behalf of the Karachi commissioner and requested for time to file comments of the chief secretary.

The AAG submitted that the chief secretary’s reply had been prepared and was sent for his signature.

The bench granted time till Dec 17.

The commissioner, in his reply, stated that all deputy commissioners of Karachi division were generally directed to issue domiciles and PRCs strictly in accordance with law and rules.

The SHC upholds death sentence handed down to two men in a 2011 robbery-cum-murder case

He asked the court to remove his name from the list of respondents since the matter in question pertained to deputy commissioners.

The petitioners maintained that people not living in Karachi managed to get government jobs and admissions to professional colleges and universities on quota reserved for urban areas on the basis of fake domiciles and PRCs.

They said that such non-residents had been depriving the citizens of Karachi of government jobs and admissions to professional colleges and universities.

They further submitted that the commissioner and the deputy commissioners had been given evidence about the issuance of fake domiciles and PRCs, but no action was taken against responsible officers.

They added that it was the duty of the government to ensure transparency and merit in recruitment on government jobs.

The petitioners asked the high court to issue directives to the government to ensure that domiciles should not be issued to any non-residents.

Death sentence of duo upheld

A division bench of the SHC on Tuesday upheld the death sentence handed down to two men in a murder case.

The convicts, through their lawyer, filed appeals and after hearing both sides and examining the record and proceedings, the two-judge bench headed by Justice K.K. Agha dismissed the appeals and upheld the trial court’s order.

A sessions court had sentenced Farman Ali and Jahangir to death in February 2017 for killing Hafiz Abul Aala during a robbery in a Gulshan-i-Iqbal area in July 2011.

The SHC ruled that it was a brutal offence as an innocent person was killed in a market in front of his family and there was a need to discourage such offences in the provincial metropolis with a deterrent sentence.

The court observed in the verdict: “Based on the particular facts and circumstances of this case keeping in view the brutality of the crime where one innocent person was murdered in front of his family especially minor children when deceased was purchasing fish for them, the complete lack of mitigating circumstances and in fact presence of aggravating circumstances as mentioned above whereby the deceased received seven firearms injuries and the need to discharge such kind of offences in Karachi which regrettably were most common at the time when the offences were committed and remain so we are of the view that a deterrent sentence is the appropriate one.”

The judgement further said that the motive behind the offence was also established as the appellants tried to rob the victim and upon resistance killed him.

Published in Dawn, December 4th, 2019