Maqbool told to make court appearance

KARACHI: A superior court on Tuesday ordered the former inspector general of Sindh Rana Maqbool, who is accused of torturing Asif Ali Zadari in prison a decade ago, to make an appearance in court within the next  10 days. The court also ordered the arrest of Farooq Amin Qureshi, a former deputy inspector general.

Another accused SSP Najeeb Mirza was present in the court at the hearing on Monday.

Counsel for Rana Maqbool, Rana Muhammad Shamim, said that the Supreme Court was currently hearing cases against his client.

The judge told Shamim that he could not represent Maqbool without submitting a nomination letter. Deputy District Public Prosecutor Kalim and the lawyer for Asif Zardari Ashfaq Solangi told the court that the Supreme Court had also rejected an application by the accused and had advised him to be present in the subordinate court while the Punjab government had also informed the court in writing about his appointment as prosecution services secretary.

Kalim and Solangi appealed to the court to form a joint ministerial committee representing Punjab and Sindh and to arrest and produce the accused in the court according to the law. They also appealed to the court to order non-bailable arrest warrants for the former DIG Amin Farooq Qureshi and order a report from the CCPO Karachi.

The defence lawyer submitted a written assurance that the accused would be produced in the court but sought an additional five days to arrange the same. The court rejected the request by the defence lawyer and ordered that the accused should be present in the court within 10 days.

The court adjourned the hearing till tomorrow.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 21^st, 2010.