QUETTA, Jan 18: A single bench of the Balochistan High Court here on Saturday reserved the judgment on a petition filed by Arbab Mohammed Hashim, secretary-general of the Pakistan Millat Party, for granting a permission to contest the Senate elections.

The plea was against Article 8AA of the Constitution that forbids losers of the general election to contest the Senate polls.

The bench, comprising Justice Mohammed Nadir Khan, after hearing arguments of the petitioner counsel reserved its judgment for Jan 20.

Four other candidates have also filed petitions in the court seeking permission to contest the elections.

The petitioners are: PPP leader Mian Saifullah Khan Paracha, Pashtunkhwa Milli Awami Party Deputy Chairman Abdur Rahim Mandokhel, PMAP leader Nawab Ayaz Jogezai and Jamhoori Watan Party Secretary General Khuda-i-Noor.

CONVICT ACQUITTED: Another single bench of the High Court acquitted a convict today and ordered his immediate release if not required in any other case.

The convict, Soba Khan, was arrested by the Jaffarabad police last year on the charge of possessing illegal pistol and cartridges.

He was produced before the sessions judge, Jaffarabad, who sentenced him to two-and-a-half year rigorous imprisonment and fined him Rs7,000 fine. The convict was to serve additional four months in jail in case of non-payment of the fine.

But Soba Khan filed a plea in the BHC against the judgment.

The High Court bench, comprising Justice Mohammed Nadir Khan, after hearing the case remarked that the prosecution failed to prove the charge against the accused and acquitted him of the charge.

NOTICE: The High Court on Saturday also issued a notice to the superintendent Dar-ul-Aman, Quetta, for not producing a girl asylum before the court.

The girl asylum, Shukriya Bibi, had filed an application with the BHC, praying for her release from Dar-ul-Aman. The court admitted the plea and ordered the Dar-ul-Aman superintendent, Ms Zarina, to produce the girl before the court, but she failed.

After the non-compliance of the orders, the bench comprising Mr Justice Mohammed Nadir Khan issued notice to the superintendent for explaining the reason as to why she did not produce the girl and directed that now the girl be produced on Jan 27.

MORPHINE SEIZED: Chagai Militia, a wing of the Frontier Corps (FC) Balochistan, recovered 193kg morphine, two rifles and 17 cartridges from Shadyan, an area near the Pak-Afghan border.

A press release of Frontier Corps issued here on Saturday states that the drug and arms were dumped underground, later to be transported to other parts of the country.—APP

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