Comments sought on plea seeking Shahid Pasha's whereabouts

SHC bench directs deputy attorney-general, provincial advocate-general to submit comments by January 18, 2018

KARACHI: The Sindh High Court (SHC) issued on Monday notices to the provincial home secretary, Rangers director-general, inspector-general of police (IG), Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) additional IG and New Town police SHO on a petition seeking the whereabouts of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) - Pakistan's missing deputy convener, Shahid Pasha.

A two-judge bench, headed by Justice Naimatullah Phulpoto, also directed the deputy attorney-general and provincial advocate-general to submit comments on behalf of the respondents by January 18, 2018.

The bench was hearing a petition filed by Pasha's wife, who moved the court against the provincial home secretary, DG Rangers, IG, CTD AIG and New Town SHO over the alleged detention of her husband.

The petitioner informed the court that personnel of law enforcement agencies intercepted the car Pasha was traveling in with a driver near the National Stadium on 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 told that the petitioner had approached the law enforcement agencies' to locate the whereabouts of her husband, but senior officials were not cooperating with the family.



The petitioner maintained that her husband was not involved in any criminal activity or had a criminal record. Therefore, the court was pleaded to direct the official respondents to establish the whereabouts of Pasha. It was also urged to direct them to produce him in the court of law, if there was any case against him.

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 the telephone from London in August last year.

The Artillery Maidan police had booked Pasha, along with other party leaders, on the allegations of facilitating arrangement of Hussain'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 MQM founder had asked his supporters to attack media houses in a fury over not getting 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.