SHC allows Aisha Bawany Trust to raise wall between school, college buildings

The Sindh High Court on Monday allowed the Aisha Bawany Trust to construct a wall between the school and college but ordered that educational activities of the college should not be suspended for the purpose. 

The court was hearing a petition filed by parents of students and the principal of the college who feared that the tussle between the Aisha Bawany Trust and the provincial education department was harming the students’ academic progress.

The court was informed by the Nazir that college classes have been resumed in compliance of the court directives. The court official submitted that the lock was broken and the possession of the college building had been given to the additional advocate general for resumption of classes. 

The counsel of the Aisha Bawany Trust submitted that the trust be allowed to construct a wall between the college and school. The court allowed the trust to raise a wall between the college and school buildings but ordered that educational activities at the college should not be disrupted.  

Safoora case

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

Petitioner Arjumand Rani has submitted that her son, Hafiz Omer, was falsely implicated in the Safoora attack case and then convicted along with others after a trial by a military court.

Her counsel submitted that the conviction and judgment passed by the military court was not maintainable in the eyes of law as the petitioner’s son could have not been in custody of the military authorities and tried under the Pakistan Army (Amendment Act (Act-II of 2015) or the Protection of Pakistan Act, 2014, which now stands expired.

Furthermore, the convicts did not belong to any terrorist organisation, terrorist group using the name of a religion or sect, or a group that had taken up arms against Pakistan as decided by the joint investigation team.

The counsel contended that the convicts were illegally tried and that too in the absence of a lawyer, in violation of Article 10-A of the Constitution, as they were also kept in communicado during their trial and investigation.

Thus their conviction is liable to the set aside, he argued. The federal law officer sought time to file comments on the petition. The SHC division bench headed by Justice Naimatullah Phulpoto, while adjourning the hearing till October 23, directed the law officer to file comments on the petition and directed the petitioner’s counsel to argue on the maintainability of the petition.  

Detention case

The Sindh High Court issued notices to the federal and provincial law officers and others on a petition against alleged illegal detention of citizens by personnel of law enforcement agencies.  Family members of Faqeer Mohammad alleged that personnel of law enforcement agencies took him away and his whereabouts remain unknown.

They submitted that the detainee was not produced before any court despite a lapse of one month and expressed apprehensions about his safety. The court directed the federal and provincial law officers to file comments on the petition on October 26.