Uzair’s mother moves SHC to bring him to trial court

The Sindh High Court (SHC) on Wednesday issued pre-admission notices to the home department as well as the federal and provincial law officers on a petition filed by Uzair Jan Baloch’s mother who wants the Lyari-based gangster to be brought to the trial court and granted bail.

Razia Bano said in her petition that her son was picked up by personnel of law enforcement agencies in January 2016 and he has remained in their custody since then.

She said Uzair was booked and challaned in 40 anti-terrorism cases pending in anti-terrorism courts, adding that her son was shifted from the central prison on April 12 last year and since then he has not been brought to any court of law.

The petitioner said that neither is the trial court proceeding with the cases pending against the detainee nor is it issuing any orders to the jail authorities to produce him before the court. She said that the family of the detainee is also not being allowed to meet him and that he is being kept at an undisclosed location.

The petitioner’s counsel said the detainee has the right to a fair trial and requested the SHC to direct the trial court to order the production of the detainee and grant him bail in cases pending against him since over two years.

After the preliminary hearing of the petition, the high court’s division bench headed by Justice Naimatullah Phulpoto issued pre-admission notices to the federal and provincial law officers, the Sindh police chief, the home secretary and others, calling for their comments to be filed by November 16. The court also directed the petitioner’s counsel to argue on the petition’s maintainability.

Uzair Baloch, who is on trial in a military court over charges of espionage for Iranian intelligence agencies, has confessed to his association with the Pakistan Peoples Party’s central leadership and made startling disclosures to the joint investigation teams regarding involvement of politicians in murders, extortion and other crimes.  

Plea against disappearance

The SHC directed the police chief to depute a DIG level officer to solve the case of the disappearance of four persons, who were allegedly picked up by the Rangers seven years ago and later killed by gangsters associated with the Uzair Baloch group.

Phullan Khatoon had filed a petition over the disappearance of her son Ghazi Khan and his friends Mohammad Ameen, Sher Afzal Khan and Shahzad Khan, claiming that they had been picked up by the paramilitary force on August 1, 2010.

She named the suspected paramilitary officials as Col Suleman, Sher Afsar and Riaz Taman. She claimed that Afsar even took a bribe of Rs100,000 from her for arranging a meeting with the detainees. Rangers and other law enforcement agencies, however, denied detaining the four.

The Rangers informed the court that Inspector Sher Afsar had admitted to having received money from the petitioner and, in view of his misconduct, he had been removed from service.

The court was earlier informed that Uzair had admitted in a confessional statement that the above-mentioned four people had been killed on his instructions due to enmity. However, the police could not trace the whereabouts of the missing persons.

The court directed the police chief to depute a DIG level officer to look into the matter, which is pending for the past eight years, by using modern technology and adjourned the hearing until October 17.