SHC asks how CM can award varying compensation amounts to families of police martyrs

The Sindh High Court (SHC) on Thursday questioned discretionary powers of the chief minister over award of different compensation to martyred police officers in the province.

Hearing a petition of Syed Basit Abbas against the non-payment of enhanced compensation by the police department, a division bench of the SHC comprising Justice Aftab Ahmed Gorar and Justice Adnanul Karim Memon questioned who different compensation amount could be awarded to police officers martyred in the line of duty.

The high court also asked the Sindh inspector general of police (IGP) about the increase in robbery incidents in the province and why the law and order situation had not been controlled yet. The bench observed that citizens were being killed and police personnel martyred but no action taken against the criminals.

The petitioner, who is the son of martyr DSP Abdul Majeed Abbas, submitted that his father was declared a Shaheed but his family was paid only Rs2 million in compensation whereas the families of some other martyred officers were paid Rs20 million by the police department in compensation.

The high court questioned how the CM could award compensation to the martyred police officers from public exchequer using his discretionary powers, and directed the Sindh advocate general Sindh to satisfy the court on such point.

The advocate general submitted that the compensation of Rs20 million was awarded to martyred police officers by the CM under his discretionary powers. He informed the SHC that there was no provision in the law or the rules with regard to award of compensation to the martyred policemen.

The IGP submitted that the enhancement of compensation in respect of a martyred cop was the sole prerogative of the Sindh government. He added that the matter of enhancement of compensation to the families of the police martyrs was presently lying before the additional chief secretary and finance department.

Prisoners in India

The Pakistani government has been regularly taking up matters of the Pakistani prisoners in India with the Indian authorities for their early release and repatriation of all the prisoners who have completed their sentence and their national status has been confirmed.

A representative of the ministry of foreign affairs provided this information to the SHC on Thursday. Filing comments on a petition seeking the repatriation of 17 Pakistani prisoners incarcerated in Indian prisons, a foreign affairs ministry director submitted that as many as four Pakistanis were undergoing life imprisonment and six others were completing different sentences in Indian prisons.

The officer submitted that seven prisoners had been released and repatriated during the last 10 years. The petitioner, Ansar Burney Trust, had filed a petition for the repatriation of 17 Pakistanis prisoners from Indian prisons. The petitioner’s counsel had also sought a direction for the federal government to help the petitioner find out the whereabouts of 16 families of petitioners and expedite the process of their repatriation.

A counsel for the petitioner expressed satisfaction at the efforts being made by the Pakistani government. She submitted that the interior ministry be directed to properly inform the petitioner whenever it wrote to the concerned ministry for ascertaining the status of the prisoners so that families of the victims may be communicated such information to their satisfaction.

A federal law officer assured the court to comply with such directions. A division bench of the SHC headed by Justice Mohammad Iqbal Kalhoro after taking the foreign ministry’s report on record disposed of the petition.