Dr Asim’s arrest illegal, SHC told

Karachi
The Sindh advocate general told the high court on Wednesday that the detention of former federal minister Dr Asim Hussain was illegal as the provincial government had not issued any specific orders to Rangers to detain him or any other citizen under Section 11-EEEE of the Anti-Terrorism Act.
Abdul Fatah Malik also submitted that neither was permission obtained from the provincial government to arrest Dr Hussain, nor any material provided against him to keep him under preventive detention.
The Sindh High Court was hearing a petition filed by Dr Hussain’s spouse, who had challenged his detention under the anti-terrorism law, additional attorney general Salman Talibuddin submitted that the detention was absolutely in accordance with Article 10(4) of the Constitution.
Malik said judicial remand of a person was necessary even in the case of preventive detention. He added that the powers of the Rangers were to be validated by the provincial assembly within 60 days for which the notification was expiring now.
On a court query about the consequences of the notification’s expiry, he replied that it was at the discretion of the assembly and it could extend it if it wanted to.

Detention legal
However, additional attorney general Salman Talibuddin argued that the detention under Section 11-EEEE of the anti-terrorism law was in accordance with the law and if needed Rangers could share with the court the information that links him with terror financing.
He submitted that the detention period of terror suspects under the anti-terrorism law had been extended from 30 to 90 days following the army-led operation Zarb-e-Azb against terrorists and their financiers who were destroying the very fabric of the society.
Justifying the preventive detention of Dr Hussain, he said the nature of offences suggests that more than one person were involved in terror financing and other terrorism-related offences and Rangers could in camera share information against him with the court.
He requested that the remedy of the review board was also available under the law which comprised of sitting judges of the Supreme Court. He added that he court should not entertain the petitions of preventive detention as it would hamper the investigation process.
An SHC division bench headed by Justice Sajjad Ali Shah adjourning the matter till October 27 directed the additional attorney general to seek instructions from the Rangers as to whether any sufficient evidence or material had been gathered from the Dr Hussain during his preventive detention.
Dr Zareen Hussain, Dr Hussain’s wife, had filed a petition against Rangers holding her husband in custody since August 26.
The petitioner had submitted that Dr Hussain, who was arrested by the Rangers on August 26, had been remanded in the paramilitary force’s custody by an anti terrorism court for 90-day preventive detention for probing the charges of financing terror groups, china cutting and other corruption allegations against him.
The petitioner’s counsel, Abid S Zuberi, contended that the detention of petitioner’s spouse under Section 11-EEEE was contrary to Article 10(4) of the Constitution that provided criteria for preventive detention. He submitted that Section 11-EEEE was ultra vires the Constitution as the petitioner’s spouse was detained without giving any reason for 90 days and no person could be detained merely for inquiry in the absence of any credible material.