KARACHI, Aug 12: The Sindh High Court dismissed on Friday a petition challenging the bifurcation of Kandhkot ‘taluka’. Candidate Shahzad Bhallani assailed the creation of a new taluka, Tanjani, as politically-motivated. He said the provincial government had no power to create a new taluka under the SLGO or the Land Revenue Act.
Additional Advocate-General M. Sarwar Khan argued that the talukas of Kashmore and Kandhkot in the Jacobabad district were reorganized to create a new taluka on public demand and in public interest.
A division bench, comprising Chief Justice Sabihuddin Ahmed and Justice Mohammad Afzal Soomro, upheld the provincial government’s decision.
The bench, meanwhile, adjourned to Monday five petitions against reconstitution of union councils in the districts of Ghotki, Shikarpur, Nawabshah and Larkana.
The petitioners contend that no change in the composition of talukas can be brought about without inviting public objections and a resolution by two-thirds of the members of the union council concerned. Advocate Abdul Mujeeb Pirzada, Farooq H. Naek, Asif Razzak Soomro and others advanced their arguments on behalf of the petitioners. Advocates Aziz A. Munshi, Dr Khalid Ishtiaq and Syed Ghulam Shah are appearing for the district government of Ghotki and Advocate-General Anwar Mansoor Khan for the provincial government.
DETENTION CASE: The Sindh High Court issued notices to the advocate-general and respondent police officers on Friday in a petition questioning arrest of an absconding accused in US journalist Daniel Pearl’s kidnapping and murder in another case.
Petitioner Mohammad Khalid Imran submitted through Advocate Rai Bashir that his brother, Syed Mohammad Hashim, who had been declared an absconder by an anti-terrorism court in the Pearl murder case, was arrested from Gujranwala recently. However, his arrest had been shown to have been effected in another ‘blind’ case, in which he had not been named as accused. He feared that his brother might be killed in a fake encounter and requested the court to direct the police to submit a list of cases registered against the accused.
A division bench, comprising Justices Ghulam Rabbani and Azizullah M. Memon, issued notices to the respondents and the advocate-general for Aug 15. Pearle went missing on June 19, 2002, and was later found to have been murdered. The case was tried by an anti-terrorism court at Hyderabad, which sentenced the principal accused, Ahmed Omar Shaikh, to death and four others to life terms. They were also ordered to pay fines to the state and compensation to their victim’s widow. The cases of accused Hashim and five other absconders were ordered to be retained on the dormant file. Cross appeals by convicts and the prosecution (for enhancement of the sentences awarded to the co-accused) are pending in the high court.
Contempt petition: The Sindh High Court issued notices on Friday in a contempt petition against the ministry of interior, the National Accountability Bureau and the Federal Investigation Agency.
Retired commodore Ashfaq Beg, an accused in a reference involving alleged purchase of defective vessels for the Pakistan National Shipping Corporation, stated through Advocate Azizullah K. Shaikh that his name was ordered to be removed by a Sindh High Court division bench following acceptance of his appeal against his conviction by an accountability court. The bench observed that since according to the federal government agencies, no case was pending against him, his name should be taken off the exit control list.
The petitioner said he wanted to proceed abroad to take up employment and respondents deliberately violated the court order by retaining his name on the ECL.
A division bench, comprising Chief Justice Sabihuddin Ahmed and Justice Mohammad Afzal Soomro, issued notices to the respondents for Sept7.