HYDERABAD: A division bench of Sindh High Court’s Hyderabad circuit comprising Justice Abdul Maalik Gaddi and Justice Adnan-ul-Karim Memon on Tuesday ordered the defence secretary to personally appear before it on Oct 14 in a case pertaining to alleged enforced disappearance of a lawyer, Advocate Muhib Ali Leghari, who is a member of the Hyderabad District Bar Association (HDBA).

The bench expressed its dissatisfaction over the reports submitted by the Hyderabad SSP regarding efforts by police for the victim’s recovery, and ordered the assistant attorney general to file comments of federal government respondents by the next date of hearing.

Sindh Bar Council (SBC) vice chairman Hyder Imam Rizvi specially appeared in court to argue the case.

Advocate Leghari was forcibly taken away by some persons while he was returning to his village via Hyderabad on Sept 4. His wife and children were accompanying him when the motorcycle they were riding was intercepted by the abductors. She said that the abductors seemed to be members of law-enforcement agencies.

Advocate Rizvi pointed out that many lawyers had been killed in targeted attacks over the last 10 years and now they were being abducted.

He said Muhib Leghari was a co-petitioner with Sarang Joyo (who was picked up and later released) in a case pertaining to missing persons and that’s why he might have been abducted. He repeatedly urged the bench to call the defence secretary and a senior officer of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) in this matter.

The counsel representing the additional advocate general filed a letter with the AAG by Lt-Commander Jamshed Gull, the legal officer-II in the ministry of defence, stating that “agencies working under administrative control of this ministry i.e. ISI and MI have been asked to provide requisite information regarding whereabouts of missing person namely Muhib Ali Leghari alias Muhib Azad”. The officer said that on receipt of information, the honourable court would be apprised immediately. He sought eight weeks’ time.

HDBA general secretary Khuda Bux Leghari, who has filed his plea to become intervener in the matter, stated that he had appeared before the joint investigation team (JIT) formed on an order of this bench. He said he told the JIT that if the man was not picked up by agencies, even then the state was responsible for his recovery.

AAG Allah Bachayo Soomro submitted home department’s notification under which the JIT was formed. It comprised representatives from the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), CID, IB, ISI, MI and Pakistan Rangers.

The JIT is headed by the Hyderabad SSP.

Published in Dawn, October 7th, 2020