KARACHI - The Sindh High Court (SHC) on Tuesday restrained the Sindh Food Authority (SFA) from sharing details with media until the inquiry into the death of two children is completed after they had dinner at a restaurant in Zamzama area of the metropolis. A division bench of SHC headed by Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar issued these orders after taking up the petition of the restaurant, filed through Bazhad Advocate, pleading the court to restrain SFA from feeding ‘false’ stories to the media, not to leak any information about the inquiry being conducted into the matter.

Director SFA Abrar Shiekh and counsel of restaurant told the court that inquiry would be completed by November 25, 2018 and then the action would be taken in the light of Sindh Food Authority Act.

Bench head asked Director SFA as why he gave the statement on the media before the completion of inquiry. “I simply told the media about the details of the incident,” Abrar said. During the hearing counsel of restaurant and Director SFA entangled in the hot arguments. “Director SFA is fond of coming on the media and immediately appeared on the media after the incident,” counsel stated.

Counsel also prayed the court to direct the SFA to issue a statement that they have not sealed the restaurant and that till their inquiry is completed, they should not be quoted as saying anything negative about the restaurant.

Meanwhile, SHC ordered a seven-member committee to settle the issues of non-payment of dues to sugarcane growers in the province in 45 days, given in its order on October 30, 2018. A division bench of SHC headed by 4ustice Muhammad Ali Mazhar resumed the hearing on a petition, filed by Sindh Growers Alliance (SGA) and others over the non-payment of dues to growers of sugarcane by the sugar mills in Sindh.

Focal Person Agriculture Department Sindh told the court that provincial government appointed new Cane Commissioner, who will head the committee. In the previous hearing, court was informed that Cane Commissioner had been transferred because of it the committee couldn’t start functioning. Bench ordered to constitute a committee, which will be headed by Cane Commissioner to settle the payment of dues, which according to petition crippled the cultivators of sugarcane crop financially.

Apart from Cane Commissioner, Vice President of Sindh Abadgar Alliance President of SGA, President Sindh Chamber of Agriculture and three representatives of Sindh Sugar Mills Association (PSMA ) Sindh Zone will be members of the committee.