KARACHI: The Sindh High Court on Thursday directed the police to file a complete compliance report containing details of absconders, proclaimed offenders and the A-class cases pending in courts across the province.

Expressing resentment over a compliance report, a two-judge bench of the SHC headed by Justice Salahuddin Panhwar directed all the deputy inspectors general of police to file complete reports in compliance with its earlier orders regarding absconders, POs and A-class cases through their representatives, not below the rank of DSP, by Sept 24.

The bench observed that the compliance report filed by the police was not reflecting a complete picture, adding that the names of absconders and POs had not been placed on the website yet.

An assistant inspector general (legal) of police submitted that there were 32,000 absconders in Karachi and 82,000 in the whole province.

The bench issued these directives on the petition of a woman filed in 2016 against the police for not arresting the accused persons in the murder of her son.

Earlier, the court had issued directives to place the names of absconders on the Exit Control List, block their computerised national identity cards (CNICs) and also put their names on the website.

Notices to LG secretary, mayor

Another division bench of the SHC on Thursday issued notices to the secretary for local bodies, Karachi mayor and other respondents on a petition about unhealthy and unhygienic atmosphere in the metropolis.

A two-judge bench headed by Justice Syed Hasan Azhar Rizvi issued notices to the local government secretary, mayor, chairmen of district municipal corporations (DMCs), Cantonment Board Karachi and others with the direction to file comments by next hearing.

The court also directed the petitioner to incorporate proper and correct addresses of the respondents.

Advocate Erum Riaz petitioned the SHC and contended that the provincial authorities, Karachi mayor and other officials concerned had failed to fulfil their responsibilities since the offal of sacrificial animals had still not been disposed of which created an unhealthy and unhygienic atmosphere.

She further argued that the garbage created hordes of flies and mosquitoes and such unhealthy atmosphere had exposed the residents of the provincial metropolis to many diseases.

Published in Dawn, September 13th, 2019