KARACHI, Oct 3: The Sindh High Court on Tuesday issued notice to the attorney-general of Pakistan for Oct 20 on a petition by Benazir Bhutto against issuance of red notices against her by the Interpol on the request of FIA.

The petitioner submitted in her petition that the FIA and National Central Bureau made requests to the Interpol for issuance of red notices against her on alleged grounds that she was evading appearing and facing trial before the accountability courts in Rawalpindi and Sessions Judge Islamabad in connection with assets, ARY Gold, SGS references and mis-declaration of assets case and subsequently Interpol issued red notices against her.

“The request made by the respondents to the Interpol for issuance of red notices against the petitioner on purported basis of orders passed by the accountability courts and Sessions Judge Islamabad are mala fide, politically-motivated, unlawful and unconstitutional and the same are liable to be set aside by this court,” said her counsel Farooq H Naek.

“It is clearly an attempt to restrict the petitioner in her ability to travel, tarnish and damage her reputation and stop her from propagating the restoration of democracy, especially as elections in Pakistan are to be held in 2007,” he added.

He submitted that the existence of red notices by the Interpol on the basis of mala fide and illegal request of respondents to persecute the petitioner for her political views wanting a genuine return of democracy in Pakistan, is a hindrance and source of great humiliation to her and violative of the provisions of the Constitution.

Mr Naek said the petitioner left the country with the permission of the Lahore High Court and her personal attendance was dispensed with by the Lahore High Court and she could not be termed to be evading/avoiding process of law of fugitive.

He mentioned that the petitioner preferred appeal in Supreme Court against the sentencing order regarding her conviction in absence in SGS case and SC deciding appeal held that she has not fled from jurisdiction of the court and her personal attendance was dispensed with.

The counsel submitted that the petitioner is living in Dubai since April 1999 and it is explicit that she is neither hiding nor concealing herself with the intent to avoid the process of the court nor she has left Pakistan in clandestine manner from the jurisdiction of the courts in Pakistan and she is not fugitive at all.

Citing ministry of interior, FIA and NCB as respondents, the court was prayed to declare requests made by respondents to interpol for red notices against petitioner are mala fide and without any legal effect.

The petitioner also sought injunction against the operation of request made by the respondents to Interpol for issuance of red notices against the petitioner and direction to respondents to withdraw their request.

SHC's division bench, comprising Chief Justice Sabihuddin Ahmed and Justice Ms Yasmeen Abbasi, which took up the matter in chamber, after preliminary hearing of the petition, issued notice to the AG and other respondents for Oct 20 and called for their comments.—PPI