SHC asks Haleem to submit rules that make him eligible for police security

The Sindh High Court (SHC) on Friday directed counsel for the leader of the opposition in the Sindh Assembly, Haleem Adil Sheikh, to provide relevant rules for provision of police security

to him.

Hearing the petition of Sheikh, who belongs to the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, seeking police security, a division bench of the high court headed by Justice Mohammad Iqbal Kalhoro asked his counsel under which law the police security may be provided to the petitioner.

The counsel submitted that the Sindh government had provided security to provincial ministers and their allies but the petitioner was not being provided police security despite repeated requests.

The SHC was told that the petitioner had applied for police protection, which was not being provided to him, while the ruling party’s political leaders were availing the same protection. He said that police security that was earlier provided to the petitioner had been withdrawn without any justification.

The high court took exception to harassment to citizens by the police and private security guards during their movement and observed that the police department should ensure proper training to the police and private guards before sanctioning them the duty of a guard.

The security SSP filed comments and submitted that the Supreme Court had ordered that cases of persons who were entitled under the law for security should be decided on the basis of the rules and objective criteria in accordance with the law.

He submitted that a threat assessment committee headed by the Karachi commissioner had been constituted under the court orders and it assessed threats to persons and passed recommendations by the consensus. The SHC after taking the report on record directed the counsel for the petitioner to submit the relevant rules with regard to providing police security to him on next date of hearing.