ISLAMABAD, Sept 19: An absconder from Karachi, who took shelter inside a mosque on the premises of Supreme Court of Pakistan for over a day to avoid arrest, was removed from there and handed over to the Karachi police, sources said on Wednesday.

Mehmood Akhtar Naqvi, who filed a petition against Interior Minister Rehman Malik and suspended MNA Farahnaz Isphahani over their dual nationality, was produced in the court of judicial magistrate Abbas Shah by Karachi’s Shahrah-i-Faisal police for seeking transit order, the Secretariat police said.

The Karachi police also produced warrants for the arrest of Mr Naqvi. Later, the magistrate issued a transit order.

On Monday, the Karachi police appeared in the Supreme Court during hearing of the dual nationality case and said Mr Naqvi was an absconder and wanted to them in connection with a criminal case. However, Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry asked the police not to arrest him from the court premises.

Later, the absconder sought protection from the court which was denied.

The Secretariat police said the Karachi police also contacted them for help in arresting the man and in response a senior official approached the registrar of the SC.

After getting permission from the registrar, the officials of the Islamabad security wing police searched the accused after the closure of the court and found him hiding in the mosque and handed him over to the Karachi police.

The Supreme Court registrar could not be contacted for his comments.