Zulfiqar Mirza’s security protocol to be restored, orders SHC

Karachi
The Sindh High Court (SHC) on Thursday directed the provincial government and the police to provide adequate security to former home minister and Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) leader Zulfiqar Mirza and his family members, in accordance with their entitlement.
The directions came on a petition filed by Mirza on the withdrawal of his security by the Karachi and Badin police. He submitted that his security protocol was withdrawn on orders of party co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari after he revealed the Sindh government and PPP leadership’s involvement in massive corruption.
Referring to the removal of security as unlawful and unjust, the petitioner’s counsel, Ashraf Samo, maintained that his client was being punished for making public the tales of frauds committed by political leaders and influential persons including Zardari, his sister and PPP MNA Faryal Talpur as well as Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) chief Altaf Hussain.
He added that the provincial government had provided security to the petitioner and his family – Dr Fehmida Mirza, former speaker of the National Assembly and currently serving as MNA and his son a sitting MPA - through SSP Badin and SSP Security, Karachi due to life threats.
The counsel said that SSP Badin Khalid Mustafa Korai and his line officer Ashiq Ali Memon, on April 21 attempted to withdraw guards from his Badin on the call of the chief secretary who was given verbal orders by Zardari and MNA Faryal Talpur.
Samo added that SSP Security Karachi, Usman Bajwa, also simultaneously called back security guards from the petitioner’s residence in Karachi.
He said the imminent threats to the petitioner and his family at the hands of different terrorists groups was no hidden fact as all records of all the reports were available with the security agencies.
He alleged that MNA Faryal Talpur’s security protocol was equivalent to that of the country’s President of Pakistan whereas all former home ministers, including MQM’s Waseem Akhtar, Rauf Siddiqui and others had around 25 policemen at their disposal, but Mirza’s guards were called back to facilitate terrorism.
SHC’s division bench headed by Justice Sajjad Ali Shah after preliminary hearing of the petition issued notices to advocate general Sindh, home secretary and others and asked the provincial chief secretary, home secretary, IG police, SSP Badin and others to file their comments by April 28.