When justice remained pending

Sindh courts delivered judgments on several high-profile cases that made headlines

KARACHI: Akin to the past, 2019 remained a very busy year for different courts in Sindh as they dealt with a variety of important cases. The Sindh High Court (SHC), together with special anti-terrorism courts (ATCs) and other lower courts, not only handled hundreds of fresh hearings throughout the year but also delivered judgments on several high-profile cases that made headlines and captured the attention of the nation.

Prominent cases
The case of Naqeebullah Mehsud's 'extrajudicial' murder remained the most prominent case in Sindh last year. Naqeebullah was an aspiring model who, along with four of his associates, was killed in a staged police encounter carried out in January 2018 by former Malir SSP Rao Anwar and his team at Usman Khaskheli Goth on the outskirts of Karachi.
The case saw multiple proceedings throughout the year and towards the end of 2019, an anti-terrorism court (ATC) adjourned the hearing of the murder case due to the absence of the case judge. So far, statements from six witnesses, including the magistrate and the police have been recorded. The hearing has been adjourned until February 3, 2020, with no action taken against the accused due to the absence of the concerned judge.
Similarly, the SHC resumed hearing petitions seeking the disqualification of top leaders of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) for holding an Iqama (work permit) and ordered the submission of documents against party co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari's sister Faryal Talpur in the case.
In February 2019, the SHC ordered the Sindh government to present the sealed reports of the joint investigation teams regarding the Baldia Town factory fire tragedy of 2015, in which over 250 workers were killed. A case was sent to court after a report by the rangers claimed that the factory was deliberately set ablaze by workers of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) when owners refused to pay extortion money to them.
At the beginning of the year, an ATC issued the arrest warrants of 21 petitioners and more than 45 witnesses in the 26 cases about Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) founder Altaf Hussain's hate speech. As a result, senior MQM leaders, including Farooq Sattar, Khawaja Izharul Hassan, Rauf Siddiqui, Rehan Hashmi, Amjadullah, Qamar Mansoor and others, had to appear before the court.
Moreover, in May 2019, the SHC commuted the capital punishment awarded to two prime accused in the Shahzeb Khan murder case - Shahrukh Jatoi and Siraj Talpur - into life imprisonment. The high court also upheld the life imprisonment sentence awarded to two other accused, Sajjad Talpur and Ghulam Murtaza Lashari.
Other major cases included an attack on Supreme Court Justice Maqbool Baqar and the asset case of Sindh Assembly Speaker Agha Siraj Durrani who was granted bail in December 2019.

Establishment of model courts
Following the decision of the National Judicial Policy Making Committee, in March 2019, the SHC ordered setting up model criminal trial courts following Articles 37(d) and 10-A of the Constitution. The establishment of these courts reduced the number of cases in the lower courts to 94,280 cases to deal with as compared to 105,000 cases in 2018.

Decided, unresolved and pending cases
According to details, the number of pending cases at the Sindh High Court increased last year as compared to 2018. In August 2019, the SHC had 75,000 pending cases which drastically increase to 82,906 by the end of the year. About 36,524 cases were disposed of, while Karachi's accountability courts successfully resolved 30 cases. However, about 200 cases are still pending. Moreover, there are 1,868 cases which are still pending at different special ATCs.
A total of 13,737 cases were decided throughout the year, leaving a total of 52,613 cases pending in six districts of Karachi. Meanwhile, 5,740 cases were resolved throughout the year. The ATC and accountability courts could not reach a decision related to some major cases, including the May 12 Massacre and the tragedy of the Baldia factory. Moreover, the cases against Dr Asim Husain of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), who was charged with corruption worth Rs479 billion, could not be decided by the court. Similarly, corruption charges against former provincial information minister Sharjeel Memon and cases against Karachi Mayor Waseem Akhtar in relation to the May 12, 2007 riots, could not be decided either.

Bails and releases
In 2019, the Sindh Police exhibited poor performance in the areas of investigation and prosecution. Convicts in 82 per cent of the cases decided by special anti-terrorism courts were released. Those who walked free include the Baldia Factory Fire case suspect Abdul Rehman Bhola, Saeed Bharam and several other high-profile suspects. The conviction rate for 42 per cent of anti-terrorism courts of the province was only 17 per cent. Per statistics, a total of 1,860 suspects were released in various cases.