Former official granted bail in murder case

Malik Deen was nominated in the FIR of Afsar’s murder over a land dispute.

ISLAMABAD:

A local court on Friday granted bail to a capital administration official who is facing charges of abetment in a murder case.

Justice Noorul Haq Qureshi of the Islamabad High Court (IHC) accepted a bail application of former Islamabad Capital Territory circle registrar Malik Deen and directed the police to include him in the murder investigation. He was nominated in the first information report (FIR) registered with the Koral police for the murder of Malik Afsar on March 17 over a land dispute.

Deen’s counsel Advocate Sher Afzal denied the allegation and informed the court that the land in question belonged to a private firm and the complainants. While submitting the footage of a private TV channel as evidence, he argued that it was clear from the footage that his client had nothing to do with the murder.

Advocate Malik Waheed Anjum, the complainants’ counsel, informed the court that the police had registered an FIR against Deen in March. On April 5, a trial court had rejected his pre-arrest bail.

On April 16, Deen was suspended from his post, as he was facing a number of inquiries. He is allegedly backed by a real estate tycoon for whom he played a key role in encroaching land in and around the capital. Last September, the IHC had directed the capital’s chief commissioner to remove Deen after two cases were filed against him.



Appointment challenged

In a separate case Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui of the IHC summoned Capital Administration and Development (CAD) Secretary Shafqat Naghmi on June 3 to justify the Pakistan Institute of Medial Sciences (Pims) administrator’s appointment.

A petition has been filed by former joint executive director of Pims challenging the appointment of the head of the anaesthesia and surgical intensive care department, Dr Muhammad Iqbal Memon as the administrator.

The petitioner’s counsel Advocate Shoaib Shaheen maintained that the CAD secretary had appointed Memon, who was not qualified for the post of administrator, to oversee the hospital’s affairs. CAD secretary also renamed the designation of joint executive director as director which is illegal, he added.

He requested the court to invalidate Memon’s appointment. On April 22, the IHC had declared the appointment of Dr Riaz Warraich as Pims executive director illegal and directed the federal government to appoint a duly qualified person as the new chief.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 1^st, 2013.