LARKANA, Aug 8: There are no chances of transparent polls in the presence of President Pervez Musharraf, said Chairman Sindh National Front (SNF) Mumtaz Ali Bhutto.

He was talking to different delegations who called on him in Mirpur Bhutto, on Wednesday.

He said the judges’ courage had opened the eyes of masses leaving zero chance for pro-government landlords to sweep polls on the strength of police, mukhtairkars and election officers. Landlords who minted money by victimisation in Musharraf’s tenure were now witnessing the accountability days getting closer, he said.

Generals should recall that we had predicted turncoats would leave them in difficult days he said and added: The meetings General Musharraf was holding with ‘lotas’ will not serve the purpose as they were now off his command.

Referring to his meeting with Malcolm who formerly held the folios of foreign and interior ministries in England he said that Malcolm conceded that Altaf Hussain, the MQM Chief had taken exile to escape criminal cases in Pakistan. His citizenship and passport was against diplomatic norms, he said and added that England could not initiate charges against Altaf as he had not committed any crime in the UK.

Mumtaz Bhutto told him then why the UK was pressing Russia to handover its citizen who committed a murder in England and escaped, when Britain itself was not ready to handover Altaf to the Pakistani government.

COURT ORDER: The Larkana circuit bench of the Sindh High Court on Wednesday ordered the DPO of Larkana to get an FIR registered against an SHO for keeping a man in illegal detention and asked the regional police officer to post him out of the district to ensure he did not do any harm to the detainee.

Justice Amir Hani Muslim passed the order on a constitutional petition filed by Ms Mehar Khatoon.

Ms Khatoon said that police struck at their houses in Alah Warayo Mashi village of Naudero at about 2 am about two months ago when they were asleep. They harassed, disgraced and maltreated the family and snatched away gold ornaments, licensed gun, cartridges, mobile phones and five family members without giving any reason, she said.

Police took away with them Ali Mohammad, Wazir Ali, Mohammad Saleem, Mohammad Umar and Ali Akbar, her son, she said adding that she and her relatives searched all the police stations in Larkana and Qambar-Shahdadkot districts but did not find any trace of their loved ones.

Then they went to Jacobabad and started searching different police stations after DIG of Larkana advised them to meet with the DPO of Larkana who told them that Jacobabad police had taken away their people. Finally, they found the five detained at Mouladad police station of Jacobabad, the petitioner said.

The petitioner had to grease the palms of SHO Mohammad Ibrahim and DSP Arbab Soomro to get her loved ones released. Police let go the four but refused to release Ali Akbar, the petitioner’s son, she said.

Ms Khatoon said that police had neither allowed her to meet her son since two months nor showed any willingness to release him. She feared her son might have been murdered immediately after the arrest.

On one occasion, the police told her that her son had been arrested in lieu of an absconder, Zulfikar Ali, she said and prayed the court to get her son released and order an FIR registered against the SHO and DSP for illegal trespass, detention and robbery.

The DPO of Jaocbabad did not appear in court despite receiving notices to be in court on Aug 4 and Justice Muslim said that the police official had wilfully avoided the court. He ordered issuance notices to the DPO asking him to appear in court on Aug 10 to show cause why contempt proceedings should not be initiated against him for his wilful avoidance of court.

The court asked the DPO of Larkana to take action after registering an FIR against the SHO in accordance with law and adjourned the case till Aug 10.

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