SHC seeks comments from LEAs by July 9

Karachi
The Sindh High Court issued notices to federal and provincial law officers, the Sindh Rangers and police chiefs and other authorities on Saturday on petitions against alleged illegal detentions of citizens, including government employees, by law enforcement agencies (LEAs).
The petitioners -- Madiha Arshad, Noreen Asif, Shujauddin, Mohammad Waseem, Hifza Raza, Aqil Ahmed Khan and Rukhsana Begum -- submitted that Arshad Qureshi, Syed Asif Ali, Ziauddin, Naeem Siddiqui, Syed Mohammad Raza, Atif Ahmed Khan and Mohammad Imran were picked up by personnel of law enforcement agencies from FB Area, Jacob Lines, Saadi Town and North Nazimabad and Buffer Zone and their whereabouts were unknown.
They said Arshad Qureshi, Syed Asif Ali, Atif Ahmed Khan and Mohammad Imran were government servants and working in government departments, including the KMC and the KDA. They said the police and Rangers were not disclosing the whereabouts of the detainees, and asked the court to direct them to produce the detainees and release them if they were not required in any cases.
A division bench, headed by Justice Mohammad Ali Mazhar, directed the federal and provincial law officers, the Sindh inspector general of police, the Rangers director general and others to file their comments on the petitions by July 9.
In a detention complaint about Faraz Khan Baloch, the court directed the SSP Investigation South to submit a report on whether the joint investigation team had completed its investigation.
The petitioner, Sher Mohammad Baloch, had challenged the illegal detention of his son Faraz Baloch, an employee of Shaheed Benazir medical college, since February 18.
The court was informed that a JIT was constituted by the home department to trace the whereabouts of detainee, but no report had been submitted by the SSP South yet.
The court directed SSP to submit a report on the JIT of the detainee, and said in case of non-compliance he would have to appear in person to explain.
It also directed the provincial law officer and police to submit comments on the illegal detention of an employee of Ali Enterprise, who is allegedly detained by the SITE police.
Waseem Ahmed submitted that his brother Rizwan Ahmed, who was an employee of Ali Enterprise in Baldia Town, was called by the SITE police on May 2 and despite the assurance he was not released.
He said his brother was on leave at the time of the fire incident at the Baldia garments factory on September 11, 2012 in which over 250 employees burnt to death.
The court directed the advocate general and the SITE police to submit comments on the petition by July 9.

EOBI scam
The SHC has issued notices to the interior secretary, Federal Investigation Agency’s director general and others for comments by July 13 on a former minister’s plea against his name in the exit control list, PPI adds.
The ex-minister in Sindh caretaker government Iqbal Dawood, who is facing corruption charges in a multibillion Employees Old Age Benefits Institution scam, had approached the court against restrictions on him to travel abroad.
A division bench, headed by Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar issued notices to the interior secretary FIA’s director general and director of Immigration Passports to file their respective comments by July 13. Dawood was one of the prime suspects in the EOBI scam as he served as director on the institution’s investment board.
The petitioner’s counsel had submitted that his client was arrested for his alleged involvement in a case pertaining to purchase of four acres of land for the EOBI scheme at very exorbitant price but he was later released on bail by the trial court.
He stated that the petitioner had nothing to do with the offence as he was not the beneficiary of the land deal.
The counsel told the court that Iqbal was suffering from blood cancer and needed treatment abroad, however, but could not do so duet to the ban. He pleaded with the court to issue directives to the authorities concerned to strike his client’s name off the ECL.