Federal law officer’s comments sought on Safoora convict’s plea

The Sindh High Court on Thursday directed the federal law officer to file comments on a petition filed by a woman against conviction of her son by a military court in the Safoora bus attack case.

Petitioner Arjumand Rani submitted that her son, Hafiz Omer, was falsely implicated in the case and later he was tried along with others who were convicted by the military court. The petitioner’s counsel argued that the judgment passed by the military court was not maintainable in the eyes of law because the accused should not have been in the custody of the military authorities and tried under the Pakistan Army (Amendment) Act (Act No II of 2015) or the Protection of Pakistan Act 2014, which now stood expired, as the petitioners did not belong to any terrorist organisation or group using the name of religion or sect, raise arms or wage a war against Pakistan, as decided by the joint investigation team.

He said Omer was illegally tried and that too in the absence of a counsel, which was a violation of the constitution's Article 10-A. The defence lawyer requested the court to set aside the conviction and the federal law officer sought time to file comments on the petition.

Headed by Justice Naimatullah Phulpoto, the SHC’s division bench directed the law officer to file comments on the petition and also ordered the petitioner’s counsel to argue on maintainability of the petition at the next hearing.  

Death row convict 

The central prison superintendent told the SHC on Thursday that death row convict Attaur Rehman was not confined in the city’s central jail.

The court was hearing the petition filed Kulsoom Bano seeking whereabouts of her brother, Attaur Rehman, who was awarded death sentence by a military court in terrorism-related cases.

The petitioners submitted that her brother was picked up by law enforcers on Aug 29, 2015 from the city’s Sohrab Goth area and her family later came to know that Rehman along with others was convicted by a military court in terrorism-related cases on December 6 last year.

She said the family was still trying to locate her brother and sought directions to jail authorities to disclose whereabouts of Rehman and let family members meet him. The court after taking the comments on record adjourned the hearing.

The Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) had issued a statement in the media regarding sentencing Attaur Rehman, Gul Zareen and Mohammad Farooq Bhatti to death for their involvement in attacks on the Jinnah International Airport, SSP Chaudhry Muhammad Aslam, LEAs and ISI officials among other innocent civilians. They were charged with the deaths of 58 individuals.