KARACHI, Jan 19: A sessions court on Saturday directed jail authorities to submit a report regarding the whereabouts of Ajmal Pahari.

The hearing of six cases — including two murder, two illicit weapons, a police encounter and an explosive substance — against Shahnawaz alias Ajmal Pahari was fixed before an additional district and sessions judge (east) in the judicial complex (central prison) on Saturday.

However, defence counsel Mushtaq Ahmed submitted an application in court stating that although his client was framed in 18 cases, he was acquitted in 12 cases and got bail in the remaining cases in Sept 2012.

He stated that instead of releasing his client the provincial government had detained him under the Maintenance of Public Order ordinance without any justification and the same was recently challenged in the Sindh High Court.

Subsequently, the lawyer alleged that on the night between Jan 17 and Jan 18 the jail authorities had handed him over to intelligence agencies.

He said that the family of his client was unaware regarding his whereabouts and feared for his safety.

The defence counsel contended that the life of Shahnawaz was in danger and prayed to the court to direct the jail officials to inform it about his location. Judge Tariq Mehmood Khoso directed the jail authorities to submit a detailed report regarding the whereabouts of the accused on Feb 11.

According to the prosecution, the CID police claimed to have arrested the accused after a shootout in New Karachi on March 28, 2011 and recovered illicit weapons from his custody and alleged that the accused was involved in more than 100 cases of targeted killing.