Court allows search of Sarim Burney Trust premises

KARACHI:

The court has accepted the Federal Investigation Agency's (FIA) requests to record the statements of the trustees of the Sarim Burney Trust, search the trust's premises, and record the statement of the parents of the smuggled child under Section 164. The case of child smuggling and document tampering was heard in the court of Judicial Magistrate Yusra Ashfaq. The accused, Sarim Burney, was presented in court via video link. The FIA requested the court to allow them to record the statements of the trustees, including Advocate Ejaz Khattak and Advocate Qadir Hussain. The court granted permission to record their statements. The FIA also requested a search warrant for the trust's premises, which was approved by the court. Additionally, the FIA requested to record the statement of the parents of the smuggled child under Section 164, which was also accepted by the court. The court remarked that any evidence collected during the search warrant should be presented in court. The hearing was adjourned until July 25.

Meanwhile a two-member bench, presided over by Justice Kausar Sultana, heard the petitions seeking the recovery of police constables and other persons.

The court inquired about the duration of the police constable's disappearance, and the petitioner's counsel replied that the constable was on duty at Korangi Police Station. On the morning of July 2, he was heading to the city court with the accused on July 2, from Korangi police station. A request to register a case was made on July 3.

The constable's mother, present in court, emotionally appealed for justice, stating that her son was the sole breadwinner and she had no knowledge of his whereabouts or who might have taken him.

The Investigating Officer (IO) revealed that multiple citizens, including Muhammad Hussain from the Eidgah area and Syed Mumtaz Rizvi from the Sachal area, are missing from various parts of Karachi.

The court responded by issuing a notice to the DIG and other parties, demanding their response by August 5. The bench ordered the continuation of the recovery process for the police constable and other missing citizens.