KARACHI, Feb 9: The Sindh High Court on Saturday restrained the Federal Investigation Agency from arresting senior airport services agent of the Emirates Airlines in a case pertaining to the escape of Shahrukh Jatoi, the prime suspect in the Shahzeb murder case, from Karachi to Dubai.
A division bench headed by Justice Maqbool Baqar was seized with the hearing of a constitutional petition filed by Asim Hameed and the UAE airline against the FIA officials for alleged harassment.
The petitioners, represented by Advocates Akhtar Ali Mehmood and Sibtain Mehmud, impleaded the FIA Anti-Human Trafficking Circle (AHTC), Karachi, FIA Inspector Saeed Ahmed Memon and the interior secretary as respondents.
The counsel submitted that the FIA issued notices to the petitioners for production of records under Sections 94 and 160 of the criminal procedure code on Feb 1 in connection with the investigation in the Shahrukh escape case.
They said that the shift-in-charge of the airline at the airport, Azhar Iqbal Malik, and Taha of Gerry’s Dnata, went to the office of the AHTC where Taha was detained seemingly in the case.
The counsel stated that it seemed that the FIA was illegally attempting to involve the officials of the airline in an attempt to protect its own personnel responsible for Shahrukh’s escape and to thwart the proceedings initiated by the Supreme Court in this regard.
The counsel for Asim Hameed submitted that his client was also issued a notice by the respondent FIA officials for recording his statement.
He apprehended that his client might be harassed, humiliated, manhandled and arrested in the escape case when he would appear before the FIA investigators.
The petitioner prayed to the court to restrain the respondent officials from detaining him in the case.
The bench issued notices to the respondents and the deputy attorney general for March 4 and ordered that no coercive action be taken against the petitioners till the next date of hearing.
NAB chairman, others issued noticesThe same bench issued notices to the chairman, director-general, provincial director and Assistant Director Abdul Fateh of the National Accountability Bureau in a petition of a grade-18 woman officer of the education department against harassment by the officials.
Zahida Ali, wife of Ali Anwar Ruk, stated that NAB had arrested her husband on false and frivolous charges and a petition seeking his bail was pending disposal in the SHC.
The petitioner stated that her husband was produced before the administrative judge of the accountability courts on Jan 29 when he also lodged complaints of maltreatment and torture against the NAB director and AD Fateh.
She stated that the two NAB officials also did not allow her to meet her husband.
The woman stated that the respondent director and the assistant director phoned her telling her to appear before them in connection with an inquiry against her.
She prayed to the court to restrain the respondent NAB officials from calling her at their office for any inquiry or investigation.
The petitioner also prayed to the court to restrain the respondent from arresting her in any purported inquiry.
The bench also issued notices to the deputy prosecutor general of NAB and the deputy attorney general and put off the hearing to Feb 25.
The bench ordered: “The respondents shall conduct themselves strictly in accordance with law and shall not indulge in any illegal and/or unlawful act against the petitioner. The respondents, more particularly Respondent No. 3 [NAB Director] and Respondent No. 4 [Assistant Director Abdul Fateh], are directed not to create any unlawful hindrance in the meeting between the petitioner and her husband as per law”.