KARACHI, April 18: Chief Justice Mohammad Afzal Soomro of the Sindh High Court reserved on Friday his order on confirmation of interim bail granted to Prof Riaz Ahmad of the University of Karachi in a criminal case registered against him on the complaint of a Rangers hawaldar.
The case was registered on April 2 by the Mobina Town police station, which declined to record the professor’s version of what happened at the university’s Silver Jubilee Gate on March 31. Complainant Anwarul Haq said the professor snubbed him for closing the university after a clash between two groups of students.
He beat him and his colleague up and tried to snatch his gun. He went to the Abbasi Shaheed Hospital, which issued a medico-legal report of the injuries received by him after examining him.
Prof Riaz Ahmad, who holds post-doctoral qualifications in applied chemistry, said the case had been lodged by the Rangers to cover up their mistreatment and physical assault on him. They roughed him up at the university gate despite the sticker displayed on his car. He received injuries on his head, back and shoulder. The incident was seen by a number of people standing around, including campus officer M. Asif. He went to the Aga Khan Hospital for medical aid and tried unsuccessfully to have his complaint registered by police. The police remained adamant even after the district and sessions judge’s order for registration of his complaint, the professor said.
His counsel, Rasheed A. Razvi and Haq Nawaz Talpur, argued that the case was false and fabricated. Among other factors, there was an inexplicable and unexplained delay of two days in its registration, though the police situated at half an hour’s drive from the university.
The CJ reserved his order after hearing the counsel and Additional Advocate-General M. Ahmed Pirzada, who argued that there was no personal enmity between the complainant and the accused and the Rangers had to tighten security following a students’ clash.
Red notices issued
Justice Munib Ahmed Khan, meanwhile, ordered that a red notice/warrant be issued for the arrest of Ghulam Muhammad Noori, who snatched his minor son from the lawful custody of his estranged wife and then flew to the United States along with minor Abbas Noori. Noori holds double citizenship of Pakistan and the United States and Abbas Noori was born in 2002 during the couple’s stay there.
Five-year-old Abbas Noori’s custody was granted to Fiza Rizvi Noori, who had been divorced by G.M. Noori, by a guardian court. Noori moved the high court against the order but while the petition was still pending, he snatched the child at gun-point when Fiza was bringing him to her counsel office in the Defence Housing Authority as per the guardian court order. She approached the court and secured an order banning G.M. Noori’s travel abroad. Noori, however, flew to the United States along with the child in violation of the court order.
The high court ordered attachment of his immovable assets on the previous date. As the petition came up for hearing on Friday, it issued a red notice/ warrant and directed the federal interior ministry to have it executed by the Interpol. Advocates Adnan Karim and Ghulam Haider Shaikh appeared for respondent Fiza Rizvi.
Stay for housing society
The CJ restrained the provincial board of revenue, the home department, the Evacuee Trust Property Board and the Sohrab Goth police from disturbing the possession of the Seven-Star Co-operative Housing Society over 28 acres allotted to it. An application for an interim injunction was filed by the society’s secretary, Islamuddin, through Advocate Jamil Ahmed Virk. The applicant said the respondents were out to dispossess the society of its property for illegal gain. The application was heard by the CJ, who issued notices to the respondents for May 15 and, in the meantime, restrained them from disturbing the status quo.
By another interim order, the CJ asked the police to provide protection to the Karachi Education Society, which faced threats from the Afghan refugees settled in Scheme 36 (Gulistan-i-Jauhar). Advocate Raja Qasit Nawaz submitted on behalf of the society that the squatters have threatened to pull down its institutions if it did not pay them ‘bhatta’ or ‘protection’ money. The police was asked to protect the educational institutions.
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