SHC hears plea against shifting of Arshad Pappoo

Karachi: The Sindh High Court (SHC) on Thursday issued notices to the Advocate-General, Sindh, and others on a petition against the shifting of alleged Lyari gangster Arshad Pappoo from Central Prison to the Malir jail.

Petitioner Asma Arshad submitted that her husband, who had been incarcerated since October 2006, was not being produced in court to face trial in cases registered against him at Hub, Balochistan.

She submitted that jail authorities were not producing her husband before the trial court so that his cases could be decided and instead he was shifted to Malir prison from the Karachi central prison. The court was prayed to declare shifting of her husband from central prison Karachi to Malir prison as unlawful and direct home department to provide details of cases pending against her spouse.

Transfer of investigation: The Sindh High Court (SHC) issued notices to Special Prosecutor on an application against transfer of sectarian killings investigation from the CID.

Applicant Mohammad Zubair submitted that the Administrative Judge of the Anti-terrorism courts had transferred investigation of cases against sectarian killing suspect Muntazir Imam from the CID to DIG Sultan Khawaja and Sardar Abdul Majeed Dasti which is beyond his jurisdiction and violation of the anti- terrorism law and criminal procedure and prayed the court to set aside the impugned order.

Muntazir Imam was arrested by the police for his alleged involvement in sectarian killing cases in May this year and complained of maltreatment and torture by the police during interrogation.

The SHC’s Chief Justice Mushir Alam, after preliminary hearing of the application, issued notices to Special Public Prosecutor and a suspect and directed the investigation officer to place on record result of such investigation.

Convicts plea: The Sindh High Court directed the provincial law officers to file comments on the petition of convicts seeking their shifting to the death cell.

Mohammad Shahid Hanif and Mohammad Talha, who were sentenced to death in sectarian killing case, submitted in the petition that they were not provided facilities as per jail rules and kept in solitary confinement with other Under-trial prisoners.

They submitted that under the prison rules, capital punishment convicts had to be kept in the death cell where they were allowed face-to-face meetings with family members but the jail authorities kept them with under-trial prisoners and did not allow them to meet the family members as per jail rules for the death penalty convicts.

They prayed the court to direct jail authorities to shift them to the “phansi ghat” (death cell) and allow them face-to-face meetings with the family members.

The original article can be found at The News.

[google-map]