KARACHI: The Sindh High Court has directed the provincial government and a federal law officer to file their comments in a petition challenging the shifting of outlawed Peoples Amn Committee chief Uzair Baloch from prison to a Rangers facility.

Petitioner Razia Begum, mother of Uzair, moved the SHC against a notification, issued in June last year, to move the Lyari gangster from the Karachi central prison to the premises of the Mitha Ram Hostel currently used by the paramilitary force by declaring it a sub-jail.

The petitioner through her counsel submitted that Uzair was confined in prison under judicial custody as he was facing trials in various criminal cases. However, the lawyer argued that he was shifted to the hostel of the paramilitary without permission of the court.

While citing the secretary of ministry of interior, chief secretary of Sindh, secretary of provincial home department, director general of Pakistan Rangers, Sindh, inspector general of police, IG-prisons and others as respondents, the petitioner contended that the impugned notification was against the fundamental rights of her son as provided in Articles nine to 20 of the Constitution.

She asked the court to declare the impugned notification of June 9 as unlawful and to direct the provincial authorities to transfer the custody back to the central prison.

The impugned notification said that after consideration of reports about security concerns, the provincial government was notifying the Rangers hostel as sub-jail to keep safe custody of the prisoner.

“Pakistan Rangers (Sindh) and the Sindh police shall be responsible for the external security of the said ‘sub-jail’ and shall take all possible security measures to avert any chance of criminal act or threat to the said inmate and officers/officials of the prison department posted at the said sub-jail,” it added.

The petition had come up for hearing in September when a division bench issued notices to the respondents, advocate general of Sindh, prosecutor general of Sindh and the deputy attorney general (DAG).

The lawyer for the petitioner moved an application for urgent hearing of the petition. However, a two-judge bench headed by Mohammad Karim Khan Agha dismissed the application and said that the petition was already fixed for hearing on Dec 14.

The bench directed the provincial government and the DAG to file their comments till the next hearing.

Uzair Baloch, who is facing dozens of cases, including the murder case of his archrival Arshad Pappu, was arrested by Rangers and then handed over to police following his mysterious arrest in January 2016 to face trials in over 50 cases.

He has so far been acquitted in over dozen of criminal cases.

However, a military court had sentenced him to 12 years in prison for his involvement in espionage activities and working for foreign intelligence agencies in 2017.

Published in Dawn, November 15th, 2021