Sulaiman Lashari murder trial: SHC issues notices to home secretary for transferring case

Petitioner says home department issued notification to transfer trail proceedings

KARACHI: The Sindh High Court (SHC) issued on Thursday notices to the provincial home secretary and others for transferring Suleiman Lashari murder trial, allegedly bypassing the authority of the provincial chief justice.

Headed by Justice Sadiq Hussain Bhatti, the bench was hearing a petition filed by the victim’s brother, Mir Mustafa Lashari. O’ Levels student Suleiman Lashari was at his house in Defence Housing Authority on May 8, when he was allegedly killed by the main accused in the case, Salman Abro. The accused is the son of Sakrand Police Training Centre SSP Ghulam Sarwar Abro.

The petitioner said that the home department has issued an official notification on November 20, transferring the murder trial proceedings from the anti-terrorism court-III to another court which is currently functioning inside the Karachi Central Jail.



Lashari’s lawyer, Faisal Siddiqui, argued that the home department had issued notification in exercise of the powers under the Section 15(2) of the ATA, 1997. The government can only exercise this power in relation to those cases in which the trial is yet to commence, the lawyer said.

He claimed that only the SHC chief justice can order transfer of the cases from one court to the other. However, the home department has transferred the proceedings to favour the respondent, Mir Salman Abro, whose father is a serving police officer and was trying to influence the case. By transferring the trial inside the prison the accused will be favoured, he added.

The court was pleaded to declare the Section 15(2) of the ATA as illegal and a violation of the Constitution. It was also requested to declare the home department’s notification without jurisdiction and lawful authority.

During the Thursday’s proceedings, Advocate Muhammad Farooq requested for time to file power of attorney on behalf of Mir Salman. The SHC bench granted the time and issued notices to the home secretary and others to file their comments by January 21.