KARACHI, Dec 16: A bench of the Sindh High Court suspended on Monday the non-bailable warrant against Sardar Usman Khan Almani, a central leader of the National People’s Party, issued by a judicial magistrate, while issuing notice to the advocate-general Sindh for Dec 20.

The bench, comprising Justice Sarmad Jalal Osmani, was hearing a criminal miscellaneous application filed by the applicant against the orders of the JM concerned who refused to entertain a report by police under section 169 of CrPC exonerating the applicant from the charge of killing Rasoolo, a worker of the PPP, on Oct 10, when general elections were held for the National and provincial assemblies.

According to a case registered at Tagar police station, Sardar Usman Khan Almani, father of former federal secretary Alam Baloch, went to a polling station on the election day. He and other workers of the NPP had an argument with workers of the PPP over voting. The applicant allegedly resorted to firing due to which Rasoolo died.

Police initially booked the applicant but later, after inquiry, exonerated him from murder charge. Police then filed an application under section 169 of CrPC but the JM concerned refused to accept the same and issued non-bailable warrant against the applicant.

The SHC bench today, after hearing Raza Hashmi, advocate, counsel for the applicant, suspended the non-bailable warrant.

A special bench of the SHC, consisting of Justice Ghulam Nabi Soomro and Justice Sarmad Jalal Osmany, adjourned the hearing of three appeals filed by 11 accused of the banned Sipah-i-Sahaba Pakistan (SSP) to Jan 13.

The accused, including Hafiz Ahmed Bakhsh, the then president of the SSP, Karachi, filed the appeals against their conviction and sentence by Special Courts for Suppression of Terrorist Activities in the carnage cases of Mehfil-i-Murtaza and Imambargah Abul Fazal Al Abbas.