IHC round up: Senior CDA official set free after apology

Sandhu asked to submit written apology on July 13.

ISLAMABAD:

The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Tuesday accepted an unconditional apology from a senior official of Capital Development Authority (CDA), who was jailed for contempt of court a day earlier.

Director General (Planning) Ghulam Sarwar Sandhu was arrested from the courtroom on Monday and sent to Adiala Jail for a day for his contemptuous attitude during court proceedings.

While ordering his release on Tuesday, Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui directed Sandhu to to give an unconditional apology in writing on July 13.

Sandhu’s counsel Raja Amir requested the court to accept his client’s apology. He said it was not his client’s intention to commit contempt of court and requested the bench to forgive his client. “You have tried to influence us with your dirty money,” said the judge. The court asked him to explain who finances his trips to Dubai every now and then.

Police asked to produce missing man

Meanwhile, the same bench directed Lahore Model Town Superintendent of Police (Investigation) Ijaz Shafi and Lahore Liaquatabad Station House Officer Khurshid Alam to produce the missing Hizbut Tehrir Spokesperson Naveed Butt on July 13.

Butt’s wife, Saadia Rahat, had filed a petition for her husband’s recovery, who went missing on May 5. The petitioner’s counsel, Umer Hayat Sandhu, had contended that Butt was detained by secret agencies. He said his client was on his way to pick up his children from school when intelligence agencies’ officials kidnapped him near Liaquatabad. He alleged Butt had received threatening calls from unknown callers before he went missing.

During the course of hearing, Justice Siddiqui directed the police to produce him before the court and said no excuse would be acceptable on July 13.

On the last date of hearing, IHC Chief Justice Iqbal Hameedur Rehman had issued notices to the directors general of Inter Services Intelligence and Military Intelligence, the Lahore-based deputy directors of the two premier agencies and the abovementioned police officers. Deputy Attorney General Tariq Mehmood Jahangiri claimed that the missing activist was not in ISI’s custody and submitted a letter from the Ministry of Defence as proof.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 4^th, 2012.