KARACHI: The Sindh High Court on Monday dismissed an application challenging an order of a sessions court against the exhumation and autopsy of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) lawmaker and television personality Dr Aamir Liaquat Hussain.

After hearing arguments from both sides, a single-judge bench headed by Justice Salahuddin Panhwar turned down the criminal miscellaneous application and maintained the order of the sessions court.

The PTI lawmaker was found dead at his Karachi residence on June 9 under mysterious circumstances.

Initially, a judicial magistrate (East) had passed an order on June 18 on an application of a citizen directing the authorities for exhumation of the body for a post-mortem examination.

The applicant, Abdul Ahad, had contended that he had approached the court as a fan of Aamir Liaquat for a post-mortem examination of the deceased to determine the actual cause of his sudden death.

However,the son and daughter of Aamir Liaquat had impugned the order of the magistrate before an additional district and sessions court, and on Aug 16, the sessions judge had set aside the order. Thereafter, the applicant had filed an application in the SHC against the order of the sessions judge and pleaded to overturn the same.

Dania Shah, who had contracted marriage with the PTI lawmaker a few months before his death, had become an intervener in the proceedings and her counsel also sought a post-mortem examination.

However, Advocate Zia Awan, who represented Aamir Liaquat’s family, submitted that the legal heirs of the deceased were his two children only and they had never requested for conducting an autopsy of the body at the time of the burial while there was nothing suspicious in the medico-legal examination conducted under the supervision of a magistrate.

He argued that Ms Shah had approached a local court in Bahawalpur for separation, whereas Aamir Liaquat had also parted ways with her before his death.

Published in Dawn, September 13th, 2022