KARACHI, Dec 9: A division bench of the Sindh High Court issued notices to education secretary and others in a petition questioning the competence of the provincial government to privatize two leading colleges of the city and other educational institutions.

The bench comprised Chief Justice Saiyed Saeed Ashhad and Justice Maqbool Baqar, and it issued notices to the education secretary, the city district government, the advocate general and the chairman of the Catholic Education Board for Dec 16.

The petition has been filed by five teachers of the St Patrick's College who challenged the privatization of their college, as well as of the St Joseph's College and other eudcaitonal institutions of the city.

Hafiz Nazar Mohammad, Barkat Ali Bhatti, Anwar Khalid, Arif Butt and Jehan Ara submitted through advocates Mirza Adil Baig and Syed Safdar Hussain that after the promulgation of the Sindh Local Government Ordinance in 2001, the provincial government was left with no authority to take decisions in respect of educational institutions. The local governments alone were competent to decide their fate.

They also claimed that the 'unregistered' Catholic Education Board, under whose academic control the denationalized colleges were intended to be transferred, had no legal existence. It ceased to exist following action by the joint registrar of companies.

They also maintained that their services as civil servants could not be privatized. They claimed that the fees would be unduly raised once the institutions were given into private hands and it would not be possible for poor people to have their children educated in these institutions. Notices were ordered to be issued to officials for Dec 16.

DOCTORS CASE: A division bench of the Sindh High Court on Thursday issued notices to federal and provincial attorneys and other respondents for Dec 14 in a petition challenging the re arrest of 'doctor brothers'.

The bench, which comprised Justices Anwar Zaheer Jamali and S. Ali Aslam Jafri, however, declined an ad interim order to stay the proceedings of a case in which Dr Akmal Waheed and Dr Arshad Waheed are facing trial for harbouring, treating and extending financial assistance to Jundullah activists allegedly involved in the ambush on the Karachi corps commander's convoy.

The petitioners, the wives of the detained doctors, maintain that their husbands could not have been taken into preventive custody under the Anti-Terrorist Act after having been released on bail by the high court in a case being tried by an anti-terrorism court under the ATA.

Advocates M. Ilyas Khan and Shaukat Hayat are appearing for petitioners. Notices were ordered to be issued to the respondent home secretary, DIG (operations) and the inspector general of prisons besides a deputy attorney general and the advocate-general.

CONSPIRACY CASE: Defence counsel for Mohammad Ashraf, a convicted activist of the Harkatul Mujahideen Al Alami in the conspiracy case to assassinate President Pervez Musharaf, and provincial law officer will argue on Dec 14 whether the provincial government has powers to shift convicted prisoner from one jail to another during pending of an appeal.

SHC's division bench, comprising Justice Wahid Bux Brohi and Justice Rehmat Hussain Jaffery, on Thursday was hearing application of Harkat activist, who challenged his transfer from Karachi to Sukkur Jail without permission of the court.