CTD, others get notices over woman’s plea against harassment

Karachi

The Sindh High Court (SHC) on Tuesday issued notices to federal and provincial law officers, counter terrorism department (CTD) and others on a petition of a woman seeking action against them for harassing her.

Petitioner Naheed Khalid submitted that the police and other law enforcement agencies arrested her spouse Khalid Yousuf Bari, a retired aircraft engineer of the national flag carrier, on September 17 from the Shaheed-e-Millat area and after keeping him in unlawful confinement for three months, falsely implicated him in the Safoora bus attack case.

She complained that ever since his arrest the law enforcement personnel had been harassing her by conducting raids at her house and seminary.

The petitioner’s counsel Syed Abdul Waheed submitted that police officials had also given false statement to media regarding her involvement in terrorism activities even though she had nothing to do with any proscribed organization.

He also alleged that police personnel would visit her residence and threaten her of dire consequences in the name of conducting investigation.

Citing the home department, CTD, IG Sindh and others as respondents, the court was requested to restrain the police and other law enforcement agencies from harassing the petitioner. The court issued notices to advocate general Sindh, prosecutor general, CTD, Rangers and others and called in their comments on January 19.

Detention case

The federal and provincial law officers were also directed to submit their comments on a petition seeking whereabouts of a man allegedly detained by the law enforcement agencies personnel on.

Petitioner Zareen Riaz maintained that her son Umer Riaz was picked up by the Rangers’ personnel from her residence in North Nazimabad area on August 6, but his whereabouts have since remained unknown.

The petitioner further maintained that she did all she could to ascertain the whereabouts of her son but the police and Rangers authorities keep giving her false hopes for the release of her son. She requested the court to direct them to produce the detainee and provide details of cases if any registered against him.

Money laundering inquiry

The SHC issued notice to the officer conducting an inquiry into a money laundering case - of $2.248 million - against a businessman, with direction to appear before the court along with the relevant record.

The petitioner, Mian Mohammad Abdullah, the chief executive of the Pakland Housing and the Sonax Housing, submitted that he had been harassed by the FIA under the garb of an inquiry into money laundering charges.

He submitted that he had no links to the bank accounts of the companies or land but FIA officials wanted to implicate him in the money laundering scam.

The FIA had initiated inquiry against the petitioner and Shamim Mushtaq Siddiqui following the death of Tariq Mohsin Siddiqui of the Pakland Group under foreign money laundering, criminal breach of trust, fraud and cheating charges.

It was alleged that petitioner and other suspect had taken possession of property comprising 11 companies and 13 lands by the way of transferring them from the name of the directors of the companies to their names using fake documents and signatures. They also had the company’s shares transferred to their names.

It was alleged that suspects shifted the money abroad, particularly to Switzerland, through Dubai by using the illegal method of hundi and hawala and then deposited it in a bank, the Julious Baer & Co Zurich in Switzerland.

The FIA alleged that the suspects had returned the money - $2,248,000 from Switzerland to the private bank accounts of Misbah Karim and Miftah Karim in Karachi, London and Dubai.

A sessions court has already granted permission to the FIA to obtain necessary information and record from the banks concerned.