KARACHI, June 18: The Sindh High Court on Tuesday directed police to submit a report regarding the whereabouts of missing workers of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement as the party’s counsel informed the court that one of the nine missing men had been found murdered fuelling apprehensions for the lives of the remaining victims.
A division bench comprising Justices Ahmed Ali M. Sheikh and Aziz-ur-Rehman was seized with the constitutional petition of the MQM seeking whereabouts of the ‘missing’ party workers.
In his petition, MQM leader Dr Farooq Sattar submitted that during the past four months nine workers had been ‘kidnapped’ by the Rangers and police.
He submitted that the party workers, including Fahim Riaz, Farooq Ahmed, Zeeshan Gul, Usman Ahmed, Saeed, Aftab Alam Shah, Muhammad Asif Khan and Arshad Ayaz Hussain, were taken into custody and when their families approached the police stations concerned, the police refused to register an FIR and avoided taking any action for their recovery.
He expressed apprehensions that their party workers might be tortured or killed by the law-enforcment agencies.The petitioner asked the court to direct the respondents to divulge information about the whereabouts of the missing workers.
He impleaded the interior secretary, home secretary, Rangers director general, inspector general of police, Sindh, DIG-South, officer in charge of the Special Investigation Unit and CID and SHOs of police stations concerned as respondents.
On Tuesday, MQM counsel Advocate Nawab Mirza submitted that one of the missing men was murdered and his bullet-riddled body, also bearing marks of severe torture, was found within the remit of the Steel Town police station.
He prayed to the court to direct the respondents to produce the missing party workers in court immediately as they might be tortured and killed in captivity.
The bench directed the assistant inspector general of police (legal) to submit a report regarding the missing persons on or before June 30, the next date of hearing.
Lawyers’ killing case
The same bench repeated notices to the home secretary, provincial police chief and director general of Rangers on a petition filed by the Sindh High Court Bar Association (SHCBA) against the targeted killing of lawyers.
SHCBA president Mustafa Lakhani submitted in the petition that the law and order situation in Karachi had been deteriorating as the life and property of the people, including lawyers, was not safe.
He said that since 2007 over 40 lawyers had been assassinated in Karachi.
The petitioner stated that law-enforcment agencies failed to restore peace in the city.
He submitted that when a policeman or any other government official was killed in any violent incident, his or her family was compensated. However, lawyers were targeted in the city, but their heirs were not being compensated, he added.
He stated that death sentences handed down to criminals were not being carried out, which encouraged other criminals to commit crimes.
The petitioner asked the court to direct the authorities concerned to take measures to avert the targeted killings of citizens mainly lawyers in Karachi.
He also prayed to the court for the issuance of directives to the government for compensation to the families of victims.
The bench directed the AIGP (legal) to appear in court along with compete record of the incidents of targeted killings in the city on the next date of hearing, which would be announced later by the court’s office.