Private complaint: Court declares Mir Shakil absconder

Police could not apprehend the accused as he was out of country

KARACHI: District and Sessions Judge East Imdad Hussain Khoso has declared the owner of Geo News and the editor-in-chief of The News International Mir Shakilur Rehman as an absconder and ordered the authorities concerned to submit the details of his properties.

The court was hearing a private complaint of the Creek Developers Private Limited. All parties to the case were present. However, neither Respondent No 2 Mir Shakilur Rehman was present nor any counsel represented him in the court. He had been summoned many times in the past as well but he did not appear.

Sub-Inspector Azhar Iqbal reported that he went to the address provided to implement the non-bailable warrants. Security in-charge Muhammad Ajmal Khan and security supervisor Syed Riaz Ali were present there. They told that Mir Shakilur Rehman had shifted to Dubai permanently and there was no chance of him returning any time soon. Sub-inspector Azhar Iqbal submitted their statements in writing accompanied with the copies of their national identity cards in the court.

In the light of this report, the court announced Mir Shakilur Rehman as an absconder and ordered placement of advertisements in newspapers for his search. The court also ordered that lists of his properties be submitted in the court.

A private developer has filed a private petition against Wajahat S Khan and Mir Shakilur Rehman, pleading that the respondents have been campaigning against him at the behest of Jahangir Siddiqui and are publishing baseless news stories and articles against his construction project in the DHA. The petitioners also submitted clippings of an article published on October 4, 2013.

The counsel of Wajahat S Khan was present at the hearing, but no one appeared on behalf of the Respondent No 2. The court announced him absconder for being constantly absent from the court.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 23^rd, 2016.