SHC seeks report on detention after acquittal
PHOTO: FILE
The Sindh High Court sought on Wednesday a detailed report on the detention of Ahmed Omar Sheikh and others, who have been acquitted of Daniel Pearl's murder.
Hearing a plea challenging Sheikh's detention after the acquittal, the court also summoned Sindh IGP Mushtaq Mahar and other officials, seeking an explanation on the matter.
As per the plea, Sheikh and others are in detention for three months under the Fourth Schedule of the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA), 1997, even after being acquitted when only the federal government is authorised to detain individuals under Section 11EE of the ATA. It moves the court to nullify the notification issued for extending the detention and order the release of Sheikh and others acquitted in the case.
At the hearing, the petitioner's counsel told the court that authorities had given no reason for keeping his client in detention.
Expressing annoyance at the Sindh government for detaining acquitted persons, the court asked, "Does the government want to turn the country into a banana republic? Under which law are they detained?"
At this, the Sindh advocate-general claimed the individuals in question had contacts with terrorists.
But when the court sought evidence for this claim, the additional home secretary clarified they had been in touch with terrorists in the past.
"We are talking about the present," rebuked the court, directing the officials to present evidence of their claim if they had any.
But the additional secretary replied that the provincial government was authorised to keep Sheikh and others in detention as the Supreme Court (SC) had issued a stay order on the high court's verdict.
At this, the court asked him to produce the stay order, following which the Sindh advocate-general asked for three days' time to comply with the directive.
Adjourning the hearing till November 26, the court sought a report on Sheikh and others' detention, in addition to directing the petitioners to file an amended plea in line with new laws pertaining to detention.
Child marriage
At another hearing, the SHC ordered that a 14-year-old girl, who had allegedly married her teacher, be sent to a shelter home after documents confirming her age were produced in court.
Fauzia had married her teacher, Noor Nabi, a few months ago and had approached the court seeking protection from her parents, who she claimed were threatening her over her marriage.
The court, however, observed that the Sindh Child Marriage Restraint Act, 2013, prohibited the marriage of persons below 18 years old. Citing the law, the court stated that those responsible for facilitating child marriages as well as the couple's parents and guardians were to be penalised.
It remarked that Fauzia was 14 years old and the court could not allow her to stay with Nabi, who had violated the law.
The court then asked Fauzia whether she wanted to stay in a shelter home or with her parents. Refusing to stay with her parents, the girl opted for residing in a Darul Aman.
Sentences commuted
Meanwhile, a two-member bench comprising Justice KK Agha and Justice Amjad Ali Sahito commuted the sentences meted out to four persons convicted in a case pertaining to illegal appointments in the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC).
Dismissing the plea challenging 10 years of imprisonment to each of the convicts, the court ordered that their penalties be reduced to five years.
Following this, the police arrested two of the convicts, Muhammad Saleem Khan and Raziur Rehman, in the courtroom. However, the other convicts, namely Mirza Baig Jilani and Muhammad Ehsan, fled and warrants for their arrests were issued by the court.
According to the prosecution, the convicts made illegal appointments in the KMC and collected salaries for ghost employees. A banking court had meted 10 years of imprisonment to each of them in 2017.
*With additional information from APP
Published in The Express Tribune, November 5th, 2020.