KARACHI, June 3: Investigation into the lawyers’ case, registered by the City Courts police station against the Sindh government and Muttahida Qaumi Movement leaders, could not be initiated as the police have not yet entertained the complainant’s request for the shifting of the investigation process to the SSP Zone-III. The case pertained to some of the violent incidents that took place on May 12.

The complainant, General Secretary of the Karachi Bar Association Naeem Qureshi, recalled that the police had initially refused to register an FIR and he had to move a court, which ordered registration of the case. “We (lawyers) do not expect an impartial inquiry under the DIG Zone-I, Manzoor Mughal, as most of the officers are performing in the same zone,” he said, adding: “We will approach the city police chief to shift the case investigation to the SSP Zone-III (which comes under the DIG Investigation Zone-II). If the city police chief turns down our request, we will go to the court,” Mr Qureshi told Dawn here on Sunday.

Legal experts said that police had powers to shift investigation of a case from one zone to the other if the complainant was not satisfied with the investigation process.

In the latest development, the case investigations were shifted to the SSP Zone-II, Niaz Khosa, who had formed an investigation team, headed by DSP Maula Bux Leghari. Other members of the team are Inspector Rehmat Baig, SI Adnan and ASI Akthtiar Bullo.

However, the lawyers expressed dissatisfaction over the shifting of the case investigation to the SSP Zone-II, saying that the SSP was also performing under the DIG Investigation Zone-I.

The City Courts police, in compliance with an order of the additional district and sessions judge, South, Mohammad Azeem, had registered the FIR (53/07) on May 19.