Family petitions SHC regarding Shahid Pasha’s whereabouts

MQM-Pakistan leader was picked up by law enforcement agencies on Friday

KARACHI: The family of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) - Pakistan's missing deputy convener, Shahid Pasha, petitioned the Sindh High Court seeking his whereabouts.

The petition was filed on Saturday by Pasha's wife, who named the provincial home secretary, provincial director-general of the Rangers, the inspector-general of police, additional IG of the Counter-Terrorism Department and New Town SHO as respondents.

The petitioner informed the court that the personnel of the law enforcement agencies intercepted the car Pasha was traveling in with a driver near the National Stadium on Friday, December 15. He was returning home from the party's headquarters in Bahadurabad.

She said the personnel took away Pasha and his driver, who was later released, but her husband had yet to return home.

The court was informed that the petitioner had approached the law enforcement agencies to find out the whereabouts of her husband, but the high-ups were not cooperating with the family.



The petitioner maintained that her husband was not involved in any criminal activity nor did he have a criminal record. Therefore, the court was pleaded to direct the official respondents to establish Pasha’s whereabouts. It was also urged to direct them to produce him in the court of law, if there was any case against him.

The plea is like to be taken up on Monday (tomorrow).

History

Pasha was recently released from prison after an anti-terrorism court granted him bail in two cases pertaining to an incendiary speech delivered by his party founder Altaf Hussain over telephone from London in August last year.

The Artillery Maidan police had booked Pasha along with other party leaders on allegations of facilitating Altaf's controversial speech delivered outside the Karachi Press Club on August 22, 2016, and for praising its content.

The anti-terrorism court concerned is trying MQM leaders and workers for resorting to violence after the speech in which the party founder had asked his supporters to attack media houses in a fury over not getting the desired coverage by the media due to a ban imposed by the Lahore High Court.

On furnishing a surety of Rs100,000 in each of the two cases, the judge had ordered Pasha to be released from jail.