KARACHI, Feb 25: The Sindh High Court has disposed of the petition of minority MPA Pitanber Sewani against proceedings of his disqualification after the federal and provincial law officers told the court that the action against the petitioner shall be taken strictly in accordance with the law in the light of the direction of the Supreme Court.

The SHC on Oct 7, 2010 had restrained the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) from taking any adverse action against the minority MPA whose name had appeared on the list of the legislators possessing fake degrees.

Mr Sewani, represented by Advocates Zamir Ghummro and Malik Naeem Iqbal, approached the SHC over the disqualification proceedings against him on the basis of a report of the Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education, Hyderabad.

The petitioner submitted that his previous name was Washdev Sewani, son of Arjandas. However, he said, later he changed his name from Washdev Sewani to Pitanbar Sewani through lawful means.

He recalled that he was also elected in 1996 through an uncontested by-election as a member of the Sindh Assembly and his name in the notification issued by the ECP was mentioned as Washdev Sewani alias Pitanbar.

The petitioner stated that he was born on May 14, 1953, acquired his primary education in Bagarji, Sukkur, matriculation from the District Council High School, Garhi Yasin, in 1970, intermediate from Government Islamia College, Sukkur, in 1974 through the Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education, Hyderabad, graduation from the University of Sindh, Jamshoro, in 1977 and did his Master's in political science from the University of Sindh, Jamshoro, in 1979.

He said he initiated the process of the change of his name from Washdev to Pitanber Sewani in 2000 with an advertisement in a newspaper and subsequently all his educational degrees were issued on the basis of his new name and the Government of Sindh also issued a notification in this regard in its official gazette.

He said his documents were also sent for verification to the Board of Intermediate Education, Hyderabad, and the University of Sindh, Jamshoro. He alleged that the chairman of the intermediate board demanded money for the verification which the petitioner refused to pay as all his documents were genuine.

On Friday, Deputy Attorney General Nazar Akbar and Additional Advocate General Muhammed Sarwar Khan submitted before a division bench that the MPA could not be declared disqualified without due verification of his documents.

They said that action against the petitioner, if any, would be taken after observing due formalities including right of hearing to him and the federal and provincial authorities shall take action strictly in accordance with the law in the light of the directions of the apex court.

The bench headed by Chief Justice Mushir Alam disposed of the petition on the request of the petitioner's counsel who stated that his client was satisfied with the statements of the government law officers.

Interned Pakistanis' case The same bench directed the ministry of foreign affairs to place on record the details of all Pakistani prisoners in Yemen within four weeks.

The bench was seized with the hearing of a petition seeking immediate steps for release and repatriation of Pakistani citizens jailed in Yemen and other countries.

Petitioner Advocate Nisar A. Mujahid, the chairman of the Human Rights and Civil Liberties, approached the court on a report appeared in this newspaper on Pakistani fishermen jailed in the Arab state.

On Friday, the petitioner submitted in court that 18 Pakistanis were released from the Yemeni prisons due his efforts and the fate of the remaining detainees was still hanging in the balance as the Pakistani mission in the Arab state was not extending any assistance in this regard.The court ordered: “Let Director General (Middle East), Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Government of Pakistan, collect information from Pakistani mission in Yemen, list of all detainees, present status of cases pending and conviction awarded or sentences to enable the families of such Pakistani detainees who may take their own individual efforts to get their loved ones released or defended in an appropriate manner in addition to the assistance provided by the Pakistani mission to them.”