KARACHI - Sindh High Court (SHC) on Tuesday extended the pre-arrest bail of Pakistan Peoples’ Party (PPP) leader Manzoor Wassan till March 20 in asset beyond income case.
A two-member bench of the SHC heard the pre-arrest bail plea of PPP leader Manzoor Wassan pertaining to National Accountability Bureau (NAB) inquiry in assets beyond income sources.
During the hearing, the court asked the NAB prosecutor to provide the progress of the investigation against PPP leader. The prosecutor informed the court that NAB chairman had instructed to continue inquiry against Wassan.
Wassan’s counsel, Barrister Zameer Ghumro, argued that despite the passage of 20 months, the NAB could not inform the court pertaining to progress into the inquiry. He said NAB had stated that the inquiry against Wassan would be closed.
To which, the NAB prosecutor said it comes under the authority of NAB chairman to close or open an inquiry against anyone. He said NAB was collecting pieces of evidence against Manzoor Wassan. The court summoned the investigation officer of NAB in the next hearing of the case.
The high court ordered NAB prosecutor to submit a response in the next hearing and sought a progress report from him. Later, the court extended the pre-arrest bail of Manzoor Wassan till March 20 and adjourned the hearing.
The PPP leader is accused of making assets beyond his known sources of income and owns benami properties too.
SHC annoys at police performance in missing persons cases
The Sindh High Court (SHC) on Tuesday expressed anger over police performance in the recovery of missing persons.
A two-member bench of the SHC, headed by Justice Naimtullah Phulapoto, heard petitions for recovery of missing persons including Omar Siddiqui, father of 10 children. The court observed that police officers are not working. “Only paperwork is completed as the result is zero,” the court remarked.
The families of the missing persons were also in the courtroom. The wife of missing citizen Omar Siddiqui stated before the court that her husband had been missing for three years. A Joint Investigation Team (JIT) has been made, but it could not trace her husband.
She stated that the future of their children had been ruined as they could not study. She pleaded with the court that her husband should be rescued as her husband’s mother is also seriously ill.
The lawyer of another family argued that Saad Siddiqui had been missing since 2015 and 10 JITs had also been formed. “JITs are formed, Provincial Task Force (PTF) meetings are also held but the missing citizen is not known,” the court remarked.
The court ordered that PTF heads must take the cases of missing persons seriously; otherwise, they will be sent to jail. The court also ordered the Home Secretary to review the case of missing citizens and sought details of detention centres in all the provinces from the secretary of interior department. The court also ordered to send a copy of the order to the Chief Secretary Sindh and sought a progress report on the missing persons in the next hearing.
