KARACHI: The Sindh High Court on Monday asked the investigating officer and the office of the prosecutor general to file a charge sheet in the Nazim Jokhio murder case before the administrative judge of antiterrorism courts (ATCs) within one week.

A single-judge bench headed by Justice Omar Sial also issued a notice to the counsel for the National Commission for Human Rights (NCHR) on its application to become a party in the proceedings directing the commission to satisfy the court about the locus standi and maintainability of their application.

The bench extended the interim pre-arrest bail of PPP MNA Jam Karim Bijjar and two other suspects till April 14 as the lawmaker did not turn up and his lawyer requested to condone his absence on the ground that he was busy in Islamabad in the session of the National Assembly.

The bench observed that on the last date, the prosecutor general office had sought one- week time to scrutinise the charge sheet and submit the same before the administrative judge of ATCs.

On Monday, the investigating officer, Inspector Siraj Lashari, informed the bench that the charge sheet had been returned to him by the office of prosecutor general with some observations required to be addressed.

He assured the court that he would file the charge sheet before the administrative judge of ATCs soon.

“It would be inappropriate to bind down PI Siraj Lashari with a time frame within which he would re-submit the challan, however, it is expected that the IO will file the same within one week and the PG office shall scrutinize the same within one day after which the challan should be placed before the learned administrative judge of ATC, Karachi,” the bench stated in its order.

The NCHR had moved the SHC last week to become a party/intervener in the case stating that there was no chance of a fair trial if the case left at the mercy of state offices since an alleged nexus between state officials and the accused party was apparent by the conduct of the prosecutor general and the home department that attempted to influence the investigation as well as extending official protocol to the MNA.

“Learned counsel is put a notice to satisfy this court as to the locus standi of the applicant/intervener to request becoming a party in these proceedings as well as maintainability of this application,” the court ordered. Nazim Jokhio was found tortured to death at the farmhouse of PPP MPA Jam Awais in Malir on Nov 3, 2021.

Two PPP lawmakers — Jam Abdul Karim and his brother MPA Jam Awais — and their guards and servants have been booked for killing Jokhio, who earned the ire of the influential legislators by stopping their foreign guests from hunting houbara bustard.

Initially, a sessions court while hearing the bail applications of accused had observed that prima facie the accused persons had no other intention or motive but to create insecurity and fear in the public by such act which falls within the definition of terrorism.

Later, a judicial magistrate had returned the case papers as well as the final charge sheet and directed the investigating officer to file the same before the administrative judge of ATCs.

Published in Dawn, April 12th, 2022