SHC issues notices to home department, IGP, others in illegal detention cases

The Sindh High Court (SHC) has issued notices to the federal and provincial law officers, home department, Sindh inspector general of police and others on petitions against the illegal detention of citizens allegedly by the personnel of law enforcement agencies (LEAs).

Petitioners Peerzada, Husn Ara and Zahida submitted in their petitions that the police and personnel of LEAs took away Mamraiz Khan, Nadeem Khan and Sohail Niaz from Shah Latif Town, Paposah and Federal B Area respectively during raids and their whereabouts were unknown since then.

They submitted that neither had the police and LEAs produced them before any court of law nor had they provided details of their cases to their family members. They sought production of the detainees before the court and also requested the court to direct the police and other respondents to provide details of cases, if any, against them.

The SHC issued notices to the provincial and federal law officers, home department, Sindh IGP and the police stations concerned, and directed them to file comments on the petitions.

Meanwhile, a petition was filed with the SHC against illegal detention of three citizens allegedly by LEAs’ personnel. Petitioner Sajidullah submitted that police and LEAs had picked up Abdul Rehman, Naheedullah and Idrees from the Orangi Town area on June 15 and they had still not been produced before any court of law.

Protest

Meanwhile, a group campaigning for the recovery of missing political activists in Sindh claimed on Saturday that more than 60 people, mainly activists of various Sindhi ethinc groups, had allegedly been picked up by LEAs and their whereabouts were unknown.

Organised under the banner of Voice for Missing Persons of Sindh (VMPS), a large number of people gathered outside the Karachi Press Club (KPC), demanding that the government reveal the whereabouts of the detained activists.

Police personnel deputed outside the KPC detained some of the protesters and released them after keeping them in custody for a few hours.

Sorath Lohar, the VMPS convener, said that for the past few days, LEAs had intensified their crackdown in Sindh on the activists of Sindhi nationalist parties. “More than 60 people have been picked up across the province and most of them belong to the Aresar and Bashir Qureshi factions of the Jeay Sindh Qaumi Mahaz,” she said.

Some of the protesters held placards and portraits of their loved ones and demanded their recovery.

They demanded that if any cases were registered against the missing persons, they should be produced before the relevant courts of law or else they be released without delay. They also demanded of the human rights organisations and relevant higher authorities to take notice of massive enforced disappearances in Sindh.