KARACHI: The Sindh High Court on Wednesday dismissed a petition filed against formation of a committee of police officers to probe the May 20 violent incidents in Moro that culminated in attack on Sindh home minister’s residence and several casualties.

The SHC noted that it was prime duty of police to handle incidents like Moro violence and make recommendations for preventive measures to avoid their recurrence in future.

The terms of reference of the impugned order would help police to deal with similar situations in future in a more effective manner and thus benefit citizens of Sindh, said the court on a petition filed by Qurban Ali Laghari, challenging the impugned order issued by Inspector General of Police Sindh on May 25 for the constitution of a committee of police officers to probe the Moro incident.

The petitioner asserted that the police officers, who were part of the committee, had a conflict of interest and would not be able to conduct a fair and impartial inquiry, hence the impugned order should be struck down. He also pleaded for quashment of the cases [that pertained to the violence].

After hearing both sides, a two-judge constitutional bench headed by Justice K.K. Agha noted in its order that it was doubtful whether the petitioner was an aggrieved party or not.

It observed that as per the terms of reference of the impugned order, the committee was formed to ascertain facts leading to the incidents in question, evaluate police response to the situation, fix responsibility and recommend remedial measures to prevent such incidents in future.

The bench said that apparently, the impugned order was primarily to inquire into police response in respect of the incidents that took place in Moro and to recommend preventive steps to avoid similar situations in future.

It is the duty of police to handle Moro like incidents, where a sit-in turned violent and led to attack on a private property as well as caused death and serious injuries to some persons and disrupted highway traffic and everyday life of ordinary citizens, it added.

The order said: “As such, we find no legal infirmity in the impugned order. Primarily, it is the responsibility of police to adopt measures that effectively address sit-ins and road blockages, ensuring that such situations do not escalate into violence and that public order and convenience is maintained and as such we find that the TORs of the impugned order will help police to deal with similar situations more effectively in future which can only be for the benefit of citizens of Sindh as it appears one of the main objectives of the order is to try to improve police efficiency in such situations”.

The court dismissed the petition and noted that the FIRs on the Moro incidents must be processed strictly in accordance with law as no case for their quashment had been made out.

On June 10, the same bench had dismissed a contempt of court application filed by Grand Democratic Alliance’s leader and former minister Ghulam Murtaza Jatoi, who was also named in the Moro violence FIRs. The court allowed police to impartially investigate such cases through a DSP and file investigation reports before the magistrate concerned.

Published in Dawn, June 12th, 2025