SHC moved against solitary confinement of over 100 MQM activists

KARACHI: The Sindh High Court on Thursday issued notices to the provincial law officer, superintendent central prison and others on Muttahida Qaumi Movement’s petition against solitary confinement of over 100 of its activists at the central prison.

MQM’s leader Kanwar Naveed Jamil submitted in the petition that over 100 under-trial prisoners of the MQM, incarcerated in different criminal cases, are in unlawful solitary confinement since July 13 and are not being provided facilities as per jail rules.

The petitioner’s counsel maintained that under trial prisoners cannot be confined in solitary prisons and that jail authorities are bound to provide them facilities as per prison laws. The court was also informed about the under-trial prisoners not being allowed to meet their families and requested the court to direct the prison authorities to shift them to jail cells from solitary prisons.

SHC’s division bench headed by Justice Naimatullah Phulpoto after a preliminary hearing of the petition directed the petitioner’s counsel to provide details of the under-trial prisoners’ cases and directed the law officer and jail authorities to file their comments on October 11. The petitioner’s counsel was also directed to argue over the maintainability of the petition.

Detention cases

Hearing a set of petitions seeking recovery of various citizens from alleged unlawful detention of the law enforcement agencies, the SHC expressed its dismay over the collective failure of the law enforcers, the provincial task forces as well as the joint investigation teams in delivering results.

The court observed that result-oriented efforts should be taken by the home department, the police and others concerned in order to ascertain the whereabouts of the missing persons. The court directed the home and police authorities to file their replies with regard to steps being taken for the recovery of missing persons.

While hearing the petitions, the court also took notice over a petition seeking recovery of a man missing since May 2011 from the Kaniz Fatima Society; the SSP East was directed to make efforts for his recovery.

The court observed that police teams constituted to investigate the missing persons cases have failed to deliver results. The petitioner’s counsel Mohammad Farooq submitted that the court had previously ordered the provincial government and the law enforcers to recover Zia Iqbal they did not make any efforts in this regard.

The court observed that it is the duty of the state to trace Zia Iqbal’s whereabouts and directed SSP East to look into the matter and submit a progress report. The court also directed the provincial government to constitute a fresh JIT to recover the missing person.  

Bail granted

The SHC granted protective pre-arrest bail to a builder named in the National Accountability Bureau’s reference pertaining to fake allotments of 16 acres of land in Scheme 33, Karachi. Petitioner Ahmed Zuhair Madni maintained in his petition that he purchased 16 acres of land in question for a housing project and the high court had also issued a decree in his favour.

However, he submitted that revenue authorities cancelled the entries of the land by declaring it bogus and fake and the NAB filed a reference against revenue officials and private persons for the allotment of land through fake documents and entries.

He submitted that he is willing to cooperate in the investigation but sought pre-arrest protective bail which was granted to him till October 26. The court also sought a progress report from the trial court with regard to the proceedings.