HYDERABAD, April 23: The Sindh High Court, Hyderabad circuit bench, has issued pre-admission notices to the secretary, Ministry of Finance, president, Zarai Taraqiati Bank Limited (ZTBL), regional manager and manager of the Tando Bago branch of the bank.

The notices were issued on a constitutional petition filed by Mir Faraz Ali Talpur and Amna Talpur, challenging the recovery of loan in the calamity-affected area of the Badin district.

The petitioners said they had obtained loans from the defunct Agriculture Development Bank of Pakistan, now the ZTBL, in 1988-89.

They said they repaid the loans in instalments but the bank officials of Badin did not provide them with detail of the amount they had refunded.

They said their lands were located in an area which was declared calamity-hit on several occasions on account of water shortage.

They said the government had deferred recovery of loan in calamity-affected areas but the regional manager and the manger of the Tando Bago branch of the ZTBL started to recover loans.

They said the bank officials visited their homes and farms and humiliated them.

The petitioners prayed the court to direct the respondents to announce a special relief scheme for calamity-hit areas and restrain them from humiliating the petitioners and adopting coercive measures for recovery of loan.

ATC: The Anti-Terrorism Court judge, Hyderabad, Syed Ali Ashraf Shah, on Wednesday ordered joint investigation in the PIA Fokker hijacking case against absconding accused, Imam Bux Bizenjo, to be conducted by the investigation team, zone-I, of the Clifton police, Karachi, and the Site police, Hyderabad.