KARACHI, July 20: The Sindh High Court issued the advocate-general a notice on Thursday in a petition moved by former Balochistan chief minister Sardar Akhtar Mengal and his four employees against their trial by an anti-terrorism court.

Mr Mengal, who is president of the Balochistan National Party, and his four employees, Nasrullah Mengal, Ghulam Hyder Langah alias Chappar, Mehboob Ali Satti and Ghulam Qadir, are being tried by an anti-terrorism court of Karachi for kidnapping with intent to kill army havildar Qurban Hussain and lance naik Fayaz Ahmed in Darakhshan, Clifton, on April 5.

According to havildar Qurban Hussain, the complainant in the case, he and lance naik Fayaz were on their way to discharge their intelligence duty when they were abducted by the five accused. Later, they were taken to Sardar Mengal’s residence in Khyaban-i-Shamsher, Defence Housing Authority, and were kept as hostages there. They were also tortured by their kidnappers, according to the complainant and the prosecution.

The accused moved an application before the trial anti-terrorism court for transfer of the case to a sessions court as it did not fall within the purview of the Anti-Terrorist Act. The trial court dismissed the application and proceeded to try the case. It declared Sardar Mengal an absconder in the case.

After dismissal of their plea, they approached the high court for transfer of the trial. Their counsel, Azizullah K. Shaikh, argued before a division bench comprising Justices Maqbool Baqar and Munib Ahmed Khan that the case made out against the applicants did not attract the provisions of the ATA and that it should be transferred to a sessions court.