Suo motu notice: SHC wants records of Pappu’s murder case

The murder FIR was lodged against PPP MNA from Lyari, Shahjehan Baloch.

KARACHI: The Sindh High Court (SHC) has called for the documents of the suo motu notice of Lyari gangster Arshad Pappu’s murder.

On Tuesday, the SHC bench — headed by Justice Sajjad Ali Shah — gave these directions to the lawyer, who was seeking bail for the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) MNA from Lyari, Shahjehan Baloch, who was nominated in the murder FIR. The Supreme Court had taken a suo motu notice.

On October 6, the anti-terrorism court had dismissed the bail application filed by Shahjehan, who subsequently challenged the bail rejection in the high court in November.

The MNA is facing charges of abducting and murdering Arshad, his brother Yasir Arafat and their aide Juma Shera on March 16 in Karachi.

The police have submitted the charge sheet against Shahjehan, Zubair Baloch, Zakir Dada and Abdul Rehman and Yousuf Baloch in the triple murder case before the special anti-terrorism court.

The other co-accused, who are absconding in the case, include the banned Peoples Amn Committee’s chief Uzair Jan Baloch, Habib Jan, Noor Muhammad alias Baba Ladla, his brother Zahid Ladla, Asif Kana, Faisal Pathan, Yasir Pathan, former SHOs of the Chakiwara and Kalakot police stations - Chand Khan Niazi and Javed Baloch.

The police had lodged the FIR of the triple murder case on the complaint of Pappu’s widow on the directions passed by the SC’s larger bench during the hearing of Karachi law and order case. On Tuesday, the bench directed the applicant’s lawyer, Amir Mansoob Qureshi, to place on record the documents relating to the suo motu notice taken by the apex court by December 17.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 11^th, 2013.