KARACHI, Dec 20: The Sindh High Court directed on Friday that status quo be maintained in respect of the ownership, assets and bank accounts of the Institute of Behavioral Sciences (IBS) and other matters relating to it pending suits filed by Dr A. Q. Khan as its patron and the Pakistan Association of Mental Health (PAMH) as its parent body.

The PAMH approached the court through its president, Dr S. Haroon Ahmed, who is also the executive director of the IBS, complaining that Dr A. Q. Khan, who had failed to obtain an extended restraint order against it in his pending suit, was now trying to have the IBS registered as a separate legal entity with a new governing body independent of its original sponsors.

After excluding the old members of the IBS board of governors from the institute’s affairs, the plaintiffs alleged, Dr Khan and eight other defendants were out to seize its movable and immovable assets, including bank accounts and a six-acre plot of land allotted by the Sindh government to the PAMH in 1995 to establish the institute.

Through their counsel, Advocates Kazim Hassan and Akhtar Hussain, the plaintiff association and its president sought an interim injunction to restrain the defendants, including the Sindh government, from causing irreparable loss to the institute by irreversibly changing its character.

Accepting the plaintiffs’ plea for an interim order, Justice Zahid Kurban Alavi, who is also seized of Dr Khan’s suit against them, observed in his order:

“This is an injunction application seeking a restraining order against nine defendants from operating not only several bank accounts but also from running the affairs of IBS, which is supposed to be a project of the plaintiffs.

They have further sought a restraining order to the effect that the defendants should not be allowed to register the IBS as a separate legal entity. Furthermore, the plaintiffs have prayed that defendant number 1 (Dr Khan) should not take any action which is adverse to the proprietary interest of the plaintiffs.

“Along with the application an affidavit of one Prof S. Haroon Ahmed has been filed. In the affidavit, it is claimed by the plaintiffs that the PAMH is a lawful allottee of the premises where the IBS is situated. The premises are a part and parcel of the plaintiff association’s property. In fact, the association’s memorandum and articles of association are the guiding factor for the appointment of the IBS board of governors. Under the circumstances, the plaintiffs claimed that an attempt is being made not only to take away the IBS but also to take control of the assets of IBS by the plaintiff (Dr Khan) in suit number 1232 of 2002.

“Issue notices to the defendants for 30. 12. 2002. In the meantime, both parties are directed to maintain status quo in respect of affairs of IBS and not to operate bank accounts. Since this is a contentious matter, hopefully, it would be decided during winter holidays.”