SHC moved for inquiry into heritage school building’s demolition

A petition was filed in the Sindh High Court on Wednesday, calling for the constitution of a commission to probe the demolition of Jufelhurst School, which was a heritage building, in the Solider Bazaar area, as well as for punishing the culprits.

The petitioner, Amity International through its president Mehfooz Yar Khan, submitted that the builder mafia in connivance with police, revenue and building control authority officials demolished the heritage building of the school and a bungalow on April 9. 

He said that if a proper inquiry through a commission was not conducted, the main culprits – the builder mafia and staff of the Sindh Building Control Authority and revenue department -- could not be punished. He requested the court to order the constitution of a commission for the identification of the “real culprits”.

A day after the investigation was handed over to the Sindh police's Counter-Terrorism Department, investigators on Tuesday arrested five police personnel, including a station house officer (SHO),  for their alleged role in the school's demolition.

Protective bail 

The Sindh High Court granted pre-arrest protective bail to an FIA officer in the school building demolition case.

Applicant Adnan Ali moved the high court for obtaining protective pre-arrest bail in connection with an FIR registered against him and others at Solider Bazaar Police Station. 

His counsel Ali Sher Habibani submitted that his client had been booked in the case with a mala fide intention and he wanted to surrender to the trial court but apprehended his arrest. 

The court, without touching the merit of the case, granted protective pre-arrest bail to the applicant and directed him to surrender before the trial court within five days.

Zardari’s missing aide

The Sindh High Court issued notices to federal and provincial law officers, the inspector general of police and other respondents on Wednesday on a petition seeking the recovery of Ashfaq Ahmed Leghari, a former Peoples Student Federation leader and close associate of former president and Pakistan Peoples Party leader Asif Ali Zardari, who was allegedly picked up by personnel of law enforcement agencies.

Yusra Zainab submitted in the petition that her father Ashfaq Ahmed Leghari was proceeding to Larkana to attend the death anniversary of PPP founder Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto when he was kidnapped in the Gadap area on April 3 and his whereabouts were unknown.

She said her father’s vehicle bearing registration number BG-1836 was found abandoned in the Gadap area. She requested the court to direct the law enforcement agencies to recover her father and provide details of cases if any against him. 

A division bench, headed by Justice Mohammad Shafi Siddiqui, after the preliminary hearing of the petition, issued notices to the respondents and sought their comments on April 20.

Ismail Mari, brother of Ghulam Qadir Mari, another aide of Zardari, has also approached the high court for the recovery of his brother, who, along with Khan Mohammad, Mehboob Khaskheli and Javed Rahmo, have gone missing while returning from Naudero and his brother’s vehicle has been found abandoned near the Jamshoro Thermal Power House.

Nawaz Leghari, another friend of the former president, who was also a former special assistant in the 2012 PPP government, was picked up by men in civvies in Islamabad on April 5.

Bagh Ibne Qasim

The Sindh High Court issued notices to the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation, the local government department and other respondents on a petition against the handing over of the possession of Bagh Ibne Qasim from the corporation to a private builder.

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf leader Imran Ismail challenged a local government notification that said 130 acres of the public park in the Clifton area had been taken from the KMC and handed over to a private builder for adoption as per an agreement reached on March 30.

According to the notification, the existing staff deployed at Bagh Ibne Qasim and the aquarium will continue to work there and the salaries of the staff would be paid by the KMC.

The petition said the provincial government did not invite any bid offers from other interested parties for the purpose, which was nullity in the eyes of the law. The court was requested to withdraw the impugned notification and as the park did not belong to the government. 

Ismail said the government had no right to execute any agreement, and requested the court to declare the notification illegal. The matter will be taken up with a Karachi mayor’s petition over which the court had already suspended the local government’s notification.