SHC seeks report on transfer of Safoora carnage case records

The Sindh High Court on Thursday directed the government’s law officer to submit a report regarding shifting of records of the Safoora bus massacre case from a military court to an anti-terrorism court.

The court was hearing petitions against non-transfer of the Safoora case files from a military court to the ATC concerned. The families of Naeem Sajid, Sultan Qamar Siddiqui and Hussain Umar Siddiqui, all accused in the Safoora carnage case, submitted that the detainees had been shifted to the central prison in Karachi, but the record of the case proceedings were still with the military court.

The SHC took exception over the delay in transferring case records despite its earlier orders, to which the additional attorney general submitted that the judge advocate general branch of army had assured that the records would be given to the ATC concerned at the earliest. 

The court directed the government law officer to submit a report in this regard and adjourned the hearing till December 20.

The court was earlier informed by the jail authorities that three alleged facilitators of the Safoora carnage case had been remanded back to an anti-terrorism court on request of military authorities. 

It was said that the three co-accused, Naeem Sajid, Sultan Qamar Siddiqui and Hussain Umar Siddiqui, were sent to military authorities for trial but were remanded back by military authorities as they could not be tried by the military court as the requisite nexus of their alleged offences based on religion or sect was not established to bring them with ambit of the Pakistan Army Act.

They said that military authorities had sent back the cases with the request to conduct their speedy trial under anti-terrorism laws. It was submitted that the SHC chief justice had accepted the request made by assistant judge advocate general, V Corps, and the cases against the three co-accused were transferred to ATCs. 

 

Detention cases 

The SHC directed the police to submit a progress report regarding recovery of two Muttahida Qaumi Movement activists who, as per their families claims, were picked up again by security agencies on the day they secured their release from jail in Karachi. 

The two MQM men, Tahir and Muhammad Junaid, had been presented before the media by SSP Rao Anwar at his infamous April 30 press conference wherein he accused both men of having received training from Indian spy agency, Research and Analysis Wing (RAW). 

Yesterday’s hearing was on a petition filed by Tahir and Junaid’s wives, Najma Tahir and Nasreen Kanwal, who submitted that both men had been acquitted by an anti-terrorism court in a case regarding possession of illegal weapon charges. 

As per the court’s orders, Tahir and Junaid were released from Central Prison Karachi on October 24. However, their wives submitted that both men were again picked up by personnel of law enforcement agencies as soon as they left jail. 

The petitioners sought protection and safe recovery of their spouses and requested the court to direct the police and law enforcement agencies to recover and produce the detainees before the court.

The Sindh Rangers filed comments on the petition in which they denied arresting or detaining the suspects. The court directed the police to register an FIR regarding their disappearance and called for a report at the next hearing on December 26.