KARACHI, Aug 26: The Sindh High Court issued notices to federal and provincial attorneys in a petition alleging illegal arrest and detention of two brothers by 'a law enforcement agency personnel' about 13 days ago.
Petitioner Nuzhat Afzal, widow of MPA Afzal Anwar, submitted through Advocate Shiraz Iqbal that LEA personnel raided her residence at Nazimabad No 1 on the night between August 12 and 13 and took her sons, Kashan and Zain Afzal, into custody without informing them of the reasons for their arrest.
They also seized their US passports, computers and some other articles. The detainees had not been produced before a court and the Gulbahar police declined to register a case on her complaint.
Citing the federal interior ministry and the provincial home department as respondents, she requested the court to direct the ministry and the department to disclose the detainees' whereabouts, produce them in the court and set them at liberty.
A division bench, comprising Chief Justice Saiyed Saeed Ashhad and Justice Zawwar Hussain Jaffery, issued notices to a deputy attorney-general and the advocate-general for Aug 31.
APPEALS ADMITTED: Five appeals filed by three activists of the banned out-fit Lashkar-i-Jhangvi (Akram Lahori group) were admitted for hearing by an Anti-Terrorism Appellate bench of the Sindh High Court, comprising Justice Wahid Bux Brohi and Justice Rehmat Hussain Jaffery on Thursday, adds APP.
Ata, Azam and Riaz were convicted and sentenced by the ATC-V for Karachi division on charge of killing Dr Raza Peerani (PS Soldier Bazar), Razi Haider and Abbas (PS Gizri), Athar Hussain Rizvi (PS Korangi), Hasan Abidi (Korangi Industrial Area) and Kazim Hussain Shah (PS Mehmoodabad).
The bench as a matter of right admitted the appeals for regular hearing issuing notice to the state. The same bench reserved judgement in an appeal filed by an accused Mohammad Aslam alias Cheena.
The appellant was tried for committing unnatural act with a nine-year-old boy Javed in the jurisdiction of PS Kalri. He was sentenced to a life term against which instant appeal was filed.
The same bench also admitted another appeal for regular hearing filed by one Rustam Shah. The appellant was accused of killing Haroon Rashid, brother of complainant Ghulam Abbas Lakho in 1999 during a bid to snatch a motorcycle. The accused was tried and sentenced by an ATC to life imprisonment on counts of murder and vehicle snatching.
CUSTODY: Two alleged activists of the banned out-fit Sipah-i-Mohammad were on Thursday remanded to CIA custody by the Judicial Magistrate, South, Abdul Qadir Burro.
Earlier, the police produced accused Syed Farhan and Rehan Abbas seeking physical custody of the accused allegedly involved in a number of sectarian-related terrorism cases in which more than a dozen persons were killed. The court, perusing the remand papers, remanded them till Aug 30.