Thatta DC told to comment on safety measures for boats

The Sindh High Court (SHC) on Wednesday directed the Thatta deputy commissioner and others to file comments on a petition seeking standard safety measures for boats carrying passengers in Thatta and other coastal areas.

The direction came on a petition of Atam Prakash and others who sought safety measures for boats carrying passengers in coastal and river areas as well as compensation for victims who died in last month’s incident in which 21 passengers had drowned on December 7.

The petitioner submitted in his plea that more than 68 passengers had boarded the boat from the coastal village of Buharo to attend the annual Urs of Meenhan Pathai at a shrine located on an island off the coast.

The petitioner’s counsel submitted in the plea that the boat had capsized due to high tide and overcrowding, causing 21 passengers to drown, as 47 people were saved by a rescue team. It was argued that according to the Boat Rules, 1953, no licensed boat could carry a greater number of passengers than the number allowed by its licence or under the Rules.

Therefore, the court was pleaded to direct the respondents to submit the standard operating procedure in court so that responsibility of the tragic incident could be ascertained. The court directed the deputy commissioner of Thatta and others to submit the report with regard to the standard operating procedure applicable in the province so that incidents like the capsizing of the boat near Thatta could be averted. The SHC adjourned the hearing until January 29.

NAB prosecutor

The SHC took an exception to the no-show of the National Accountability Bureau’s (NAB) prosecutor on the bail petitions filed by the co-accused involved in the Rs462 billion corruption reference against former federal petroleum minister Dr Asim Hussain.

Hearing the bail petition of former petroleum and natural resources secretary Ejaz Chaudhry and others facing corruption charges besides Dr Asim Hussain in the accountability court, the SHC observed that the NAB prosecutor was not appearing despite petitions pending for the past couple of years.

Dr Asim Hussain, a close aide of former president Asif Ali Zardari, is facing corruption references pertaining to land fraud to the tune of Rs9.5 billion, money laundering to the tune of Rs3 billion, misuse of authority and criminal breach of trust through the fertilizer scam to the tune of Rs450 billion.

Former petroleum and natural resources secretary Ejaz Chaudhry, Karachi Docks Labour Board’s former chief executive officer Safdar Hussain, Karachi Development Authority’s former directors Syed Athar Hussain and Masood Haider Jaffery, and Ziauddin group finance director Abdul Hameed are among the co-accused.

The bail petitions of the co-accused were fixed for hearing but an adjournment was sought on behalf of the NAB prosecutor who was engaged before another bench. The court observed that the petitioners were granted protective interim pre-arrest bail, while one petitioner sought post-arrest bail and the case was pending before the trial court. The bench directed the NAB special prosecutor to appear, along with the investigation officer, in court for arguments and then adjourned the hearing until January 22.