Professor remanded in court custody

Court rejects request for physical remand after Soomro was arrested under blasphemy charges

KARACHI: A professor at Shah Abdul Latif University, Khairpur, who was arrested under charges of blasphemy, has been remanded in court custody.

Prof Sajid Soomro's lawyer submitted a bail application before the first judicial magistrate on Friday. Soomro, who was arrested by the police from his residence in Khairpur city, was presented in court as the police requested his physical remand. The request was denied by the court.

In line with the standard operating procedures put in place amid the Covid-19 crisis, Soomro has been shifted to an isolation ward while his samples are being tested for the virus.

"The bail hearing is fixed for Saturday (today)," disclosed his lawyer, Fayaz Khamisani, who was optimistic that the plea would be approved.

Khamisani maintained that the case against Soomro was weak because no permission had been taken from the home department prior to its registration. "Soomro has not committed any crime mentioned in the FIR," he insisted.

The case was lodged by ASI Ghulam Nabi Narijo, who stated in the FIR that he had been carrying out routine patrolling when an informant told him that Soomro was involved in spreading religious hatred. He also mentioned in the FIR that the professor had spoken against Islamic seminaries.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 13^th, 2020.