LARKANA, Nov 11: The District Police Officer of Qambar-Shahdadkot and SHOs of Warah and Gaji Khuhawar police stations appeared before the Sindh High Court circuit bench Larkana on Friday and denied keeping three persons in wrongful confinement.

Comprising Justice Mohammed Afzal Soomro and Justice Maqbool Baqar, the division bench heard the petition of Abdul Rauf Chandio, a resident of Mirpur village, alleging that Warah police had arrested his relatives — Ghulam Mohammed son of Abdul Rehman Chandio, Abdul Hameed son of Mohammed Bakhsh Chandio and Hussain Ali son of Sultan Chandio about five months back and kept them in wrongful confinement.

The police officers including DPO Zulfikar Pathan, SHO of Gaji Khuhawar Asghar Ali Brohi, SHO of Warah, Inspector A.Rahim Mashori submitted their statement in the court and denied keeping the three persons in illegal detention.

Asif Soomro advocate on behalf of the DPO said that Ghulam Mohammed, Abdul Hameed and Hussain Ali were arrested on the orders of Supreme Court of Pakistan in connection with criminal appeal No.85 of 1999 of Abdul Razzak versus Abdul Rehman pending with the court on July 7, 2005.

They were subsequently produced before the Supreme Court on July 9 and September 9. The detenus were arrested in compliance with the orders of the Supreme Court and were not kept in illegal detention.

The court asked ASI Muzaffar who was in-charge of Warah police station when a raid was conducted why had he made false statement before the court on Thursday saying that none of them was with the police.

He immediately sought unconditional apology from the division bench, which asked him to be careful in giving statements in the court. The court disposing of the petition after the petitioner did not press ordered police to facilitate the detenus to sign the Vakalnama.

On Thursday when the deputy registrar of Sindh High Court, Larkana circuit, Altaf Hussain Chandio raided Warah police station and found the three detenus.

But the ASI on duty failed to produce any document showing their arrests.

PTCL: Zulfikar Sangi, the Central President of Pakistan Telecommunication Employees Union, has said that the contract between Iteslat and privatization commission about the disposal of PTCL’s shares had practically been terminated.

In a press statement issued on Friday, he urged the government to do away with the privatization of PTCL and encourage public-private sector competition in the telecom sector where already 12 companies had registered themselves in Long distance International and 22 companies in local loop systems.

Mr Sangi, who had recently been elected as chairman of the Union Network International (NUI) for South Asia in a ‘holding Conference South Asia’ held in Sri Lanka on November 6, 2005, said that conference discussed workers problems.