Safoora case: SHC orders convict, relatives be allowed to meet

Meeting should be arranged in three days, court orders

KARACHI: The Sindh High Court (SHC) on Tuesday ordered to arrange a meeting between a convict in the Safoora carnage case, Ali Rehman, and his relatives. The Chief Justice (CJ) of SHC Justice Ahmed Ali Sheikh passed the order while hearing a plea for contempt against the officials who hadn't yet arranged the meeting.

When questioned by the court why the meeting was not arranged, the inspector-general (IG) of jails Qazi Nazir Ahmed replied that Rehman was in the custody of the army and the military house had been declared a sub-jail.

The CJ expressed anger over not allowing the convict to meet his relatives and remarked that if anything happens to the convict, who would be responsible.

The jail IG replied that the army procedure was lengthy and that was why it took time. He assured that he would go to the army personally with the request and ensure that a meeting takes place.

The CJ asked for a written statement from the jail IG that if the meeting was not arranged, he would be in contempt of court orders.

The court ordered the IG to arrange the meeting within three days and also directed to submit a report.

Rehman was awarded a death sentence by the military court.

The petitioners sought contempt proceedings as the court had ordered to arrange a meeting six months ago.

Shahzeb murder case

The SHC on Tuesday ordered the defence lawyer in Shahzeb Khan murder case to complete his arguments in an appeal filed against the sentence awarded to the convicts in the next hearing.

On the orders of the Supreme Court (SC), a three-member bench headed by Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar heard the appeal. Defence lawyer Mehmood Qureshi said that there were contradictions in the prosecution's statements. Pointing to three contradictions, he said that the stance adopted in the FIR, statements of the witnesses and judicial records don't match each other. The court ordered the lawyer to complete his arguments in the next hearing on November 5. The SC took sou motu notice on the dropping of the terrorism clauses against the accused namely Shahrukh Jatoi, Nawab Siraj Talpur, Sajjad Talpur and Ghulam Murtaza Lashari. An anti-terrorism court had sentenced Shahrukh Jatoi and Siraj Talpur to death while Sajjad Talpur and Murtaza Lashari were sentenced to life imprisonment.

Ubaid K2 case

The SHC on Tuesday ordered the defence lawyer of a convict, Ubaidur Rehman alias Ubaid K2, to prepare the appeal against the sentence and appear in next hearing on December 10. A two-member bench heard the appeal of Ubaid K2, an MQM worker accused in an explosive materials case. Ubaid's lawyer requested the court for time to prepare the case. The court, granting the permission, adjourned the hearing. The petitioner claimed that a launcher, not explosives, was recovered from Ubaid's possession and the anti-terrorism court had not taken the witnesses' account into consideration. Special Public Prosecutor of Pakistan Rangers, Mehmood Anwer, had maintained that the launcher was also a type of explosive and hence it was wrong to claim that explosives were not recovered. An anti-terrorism court had sentenced Ubaid K2 to 14 years imprisonment. The accused was arrested from Gulberg in 2015. 

Published in The Express Tribune, October 24^th, 2018.