KARACHI, July 16: A judicial magistrate on Monday extended the judicial remand of civil rights campaigner Syed Mohammad Iqbal Kaazmi till July 21. The police also submitted a charge-sheet to the court of Judicial Magistrate, South, Zulfiqar Ali.

FIR Nos 150, 206 and 548 were registered in 2006 against him in the Darakhshan and Al-Falah police stations after the cheques he had given to the complainants had bounced.

According to the charge-sheet, one of the cases (FIR No. 150/2006) was lodged by Abdul Jabbar, who alleged that Kazmi owed him Rs98,000 for purchasing computers. The complainant alleged that the accused had given him a cheque for the amount, but it bounced when he presented it to the bank.

It was learnt that the second case (FIR No 206) was lodged by Mohammed Hanif Memon, a rent-a-car dealer, who said he had Rs470,000 outstanding against the accused.

While the third case was registered by Mohammed Iqbal, who accused Kazmi of owing him Rs588, 000 in a business deal. He said the complainant was also given dud cheques.

Commenting on the cases against him, Mr Kazmi repeatedly said: “The cases are false and I have not issued the cheques. But the police arrested me to punish me for my petition filed in the Sindh High Court over the May 12 violence”.

“I have filed petitions in the SHC against the Karachi Electric Supply Corporation, the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority and mobile telephone companies and all the petitions are in the public interest, but people are not helping me with proof against the organisations,” he said.

Kazmi asked the people to provide him with proof of casualties, losses and other problems, if any, against the KESC which could be produced in the court on the next hearing on July 23.

He said officials of the KESC in their rejoinder had committed many mistakes and were unable to cover them up, adding that he would provide proof to the court against the power utility.

He said the court would hopefully provide relief to the people and they would get rid of load-shedding in the city, saying that heirs of many of the victims would be able to get claims for the loss of their relatives “if provided proof”.