NAWABSHAH, Oct 23: A sessions court on Tuesday issued a notice to the SHO of the Sakrand police station for Oct 31 on a plea of the brother of late Jeay Sindh Qaumi Mahaz chairman Bashir Khan Qureshi for refusing to register an FIR regarding his brother’s killing.

Maqsood Qureshi, through his counsel Shahbaz Dahiri, filed the application before Additional Sessions Judge Inam Ali Kalhoro under Section 22-A of the criminal procedure code stating that the court had on Monday directed the Nawabshah police to register a second FIR of the Bashir Qureshi murder case.

The counsel informed the court that when his client approached the Sakrand police on Monday for registration of another FIR on the court order, the police asked him to wait for five hours and later refused to register his FIR.

The court issued a notice to the Sakrand SHO for Oct 31 directing him to appear in court and explain as to why he did not comply with the court orders.

The applicant wanted to lodge the FIR against Federal Interior Minister Rehman Malik, ISI Director-General Maj General Zaheer-ul-Islam and former Sindh Rangers director-general Aijaz Ahmed Chaudhry.

During the Monday hearing of the application, the court was informed that Bashir Khan Qureshi was declared dead by doctors on April 6 after which a post-mortem examination was performed and the preliminary report suggested that phosphorus was found in his body.

It was further informed that the applicant had approached the Sakrand police on Sept 27 to lodge a murder FIR but they refused to entertain his complaint. However, it was submitted, the police on Oct 3 registered an FIR on their own which did not reflect the facts about Mr Qureshi’s death.

The Sakrand SHO submitted in the court that the FIR already registered by the police contained proper facts and, therefore, the application was not maintainable.

There was no provision of a second FIR under the law, he further submitted, and informed the court that the case had since been transferred to the crime branch, Hyderabad, where an investigation was under way.

The judge, observing that it was not within the domain of a police officer to act arbitrarily or whimsically, ordered the SHO to act in accordance with the law, entertain the complaint of the complainant and register FIR as required under Section 154 of the CrPC.

Meanwhile, JSQM chairman Sannan Qureshi and his uncle, Maqsood Qureshi, held a press conference at the Sakrand police station and criticised the police for not lodging their FIR.

They said that the government was a hurdle in the investigations and they would hold protest demonstrations against non-registration of the FIR and would block the National Highway on Wednesday.

Later, JSQM activists took out a rally and held a protest demonstration against the Sakrand police.