KARACHI, Aug 4: The Sindh High Court on Thursday directed the superintendent of the Central Prison Karachi to conduct an inquiry into the disappearance of a former union council nazim of Kalakot after his release from the penitentiary and submit his report on Aug 16.

A division bench headed by Justice Gulzar Ahmed was seized with the constitutional petition of Nazia Bibi, wife of ex-nazim Abdur Rauf Baloch, against the alleged detention of her husband by personnel of law-enforcement agencies in civilian dress.

She impleaded the provincial and city police chiefs, the prisons’ chief and his deputy, the superintendent of the Central Prison Karachi and the SSPs of the CID and Special Investigation Unit as respondents.

The petitioner, represented by Advocate Nazir Ahmed, submitted that her husband was released on bail from jail on June 18 after being imprisoned for 10 months in “false cases”.

However, she stated, plain-clothes personnel, who came in a white jeep, picked her husband as he was released from the jail at around 6.30pm and drove him away.

The woman submitted that she approached the prison and police authorities to ascertain her husband’s whereabouts, but to no avail.

She asked the court to direct the respondents to produce her husband in court.

The petitioner also sought protection for her husband.

The bench put off the hearing to Aug 16 and directed the jail superintendent to submit his inquiry report on the next date of hearing.

Targeted killings case

The same bench adjourned the hearing of a petition against targeted killings in the city after the provincial law officer sought time to file the government’s comments.

The bench was hearing the petition of a civil rights campaigner, Rana Faizul Hassan, against targeted killings in the city.

Earlier, the bench had directed the provincial law officer to inform the court of measures adopted by the Sindh government to ensure safety and security of the people and their properties in the city.

The additional advocate-general once again asked the court for time to file comments of the government regarding the allegations made in the petition.

Mr Hassan submitted in his petition that over 100 people had recently been killed in targeted attacks in four days in Karachi.

He stated that overall nearly 1,200 people had fallen prey to targeted killings in the last six months.

He contended that people were being killed on the basis of ethnicity and innocent people were being targeted.

The petitioner stated that due to the worsening law and order situation people were forced to leave their homes and added that despite the bad situation the government was not performing its duties and had failed to control the situation.

He prayed to the court to order the federal and provincial governments to control the law and order situation and restore peace to the city.

The SHC had earlier directed the respondents – the federal interior secretary, Sindh home secretary, provincial and citypolice chiefs and others – to file their comments.

The bench put off the hearing to a date to be later fixed by the court’s office.