0
KARACHI, May 6: The Sindh High Court gave the National Accountability Bureau 10 more days on Tuesday to produce a document certifying that the Swiss authorities have terminated, under the October 2007 National Reconciliation Ordinance, the investigations initiated by them against PPP leader Asif Ali Zardari at the Pakistani government’s request.
The court had earlier allowed the National Accountability Bureau request for production of the document in the first week of May. Deputy Attorney-General Rizwan Ahmed Siddiqui and Dr Danishwar Malik, NAB prosecutor-general, informed a division bench consisting of Justices Mrs Qaiser Iqbal and Mahmood Alam Rizvi that a communication had already been received from London verifying that the proceedings on Pakistan’s request for mutual assistance in Mr Zardari’s case had been terminated by the British court concerned.
They submitted the termination certificate to the bench.
About the Swiss investigation into Cotecna case, the law officers said a written response was still awaited, though they had verbally been informed of termination.
They sought two weeks more to place the necessary confirmation before the court.
The bench adjourned the hearing to May 15 to enable them to comply with its order.
Child’s custody
A Pakistani-American undertook on Tuesday to transfer his forcibly acquired custody of his minor son to his estranged wife and the Sindh High Court suspended the operation of its order for issuance of ‘red warrant’ for his arrest by Interpol.
Ghulam Mohammad Noori had snatched five-year-old Abbas Noori from Fiza Rizvi, the child’s mother divorced by him. A guardian court had granted Ms Rizvi custody and Mr Noori, who had been allowed visitation rights within the court’s territorial jurisdiction, had challenged the order in the high court. While his petition was still pending, Mr Noori snatched Abbas Noori as he was being brought to a lawyer’s office for the weekly meeting with his father. The child was whisked away to the United States, where he was born, in violation of the court order.
Ms Rizvi approached the high court for restoration of her lawful custody and for contempt and other proceedings against Mr Noori. The court first ordered that his name be put on the exit control list and, when it was confirmed that he had flown to the Unites States along with Abbas, issued warrants for his arrest and ordered attachment of his property in Karachi.
As the case came up before Justice Ali Sain Dino Metlo on Tuesday, Advocate Kumail Sirazi submitted an undertaking that Mr Noori would restore the child’s custody within 20 days. The lawyer said his client wanted a compromise for settlement of disputes with his former wife.
He requested the court to suspend the operation of red warrant ordered to be issued by it for his client’s arrest by Interpol. The earlier warrants issued to enforce his attendance in the court should also be recalled to enable Mr Noori to approach the court and produce the child.
The court suspended the warrants ‘for the time being’ and adjourned the case to May 27 for the child’s production.
