Court seeks record in alleged nepotism case

Five family members were appointed to the Sindh Assembly

KARACHI:

A Sindh High Court (SHC) bench, while hearing a petition against the recruitment of five members of a family, including one in grade 20, in the Sindh Assembly, has sought their service record and details of the recruitment procedure.

Sindh Assembly Speaker Agha Siraj Durani submitted his response to the petition before the two-member bench, headed by Justice Muhammad Iqbal Kalhoro, hearing the petition.

The bench inquired about the number of candidates interviewed for the posts, the newspapers in which the job was advertised, details of the recruitment committee, and their recommendations.

The bench summoned the service file of the sons of former secretary Hadi Bux Buriro and clippings of the advertisements for the posts in question.

“We know how contractors work. Advertisements were published in only two newspapers,” Justice Kalhoro remarked.

He inquired about the academic credentials and experience of the five individuals, including Sindh Assembly Secretary G M Umar Farooq, at the time of recruitment.

The bench adjourned the hearing till March 1 while seeking the complete record of the recruitments from the advocate general of Sindh.

Squatters get another relief

The Sindh High Court (SHC) on Thursday gave temporary relief to almost 1,200 residents of PIB Colony trans-Lyari area facing evacuation orders.

The court recalled its order on technical grounds while hearing the case of possession of the property of Muhammad Ashraf Uddin in Pir Ilahi Bakhsh (PIB) Colony, where encroachers have set up homes for decades.

The court had pronounced its verdict in favour of Ashraf Uddin in 1986.

On February 6, the SHC had directed the bailiff that the physical possession of the land should be handed over to the owner while instructing the official to get police assistance if necessary.

The court official had issued notices to all the residents to vacate the premises. More than 178 houses have been constructed on the said land in PIB Colony.

However, days after SHC issued orders to hand over possession of the land to the legal heirs of Ashraf, people who have lived on the encroached land filed an application for urgent hearing.

Subsequently, the court amended and revoked the directive to transfer the possession of 21,800 square yards of property on plot number 41 in PIB Colony.

As for the decree holder, the court said that, if possible, interest should be added to the payment of more than Rs130 million to the legal hiers of Ashraf. The court had ordered to give an alternative site to the legal heirs of Ashraf. The hearing was adjourned till February 28.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 24^th, 2023.