Sindh Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah and Home Minister Sohail Anwar Sial brief Sindh High Court Chief Justice Sajjad Ali Shah on steps taken for the recovery of his son Advocate Awais Ali Shah in his SHC chamber on Tuesday.—PPI
ASI Arif Shah at the Clifton police station said Mr Shah’s silver Suzuki Swift (AZT-535) was parked near the supermarket, opposite a women’s clothing store. “The men didn’t let him reach the car at all. They kidnapped him right outside the supermarket giving him no time to escape,” the ASI added.
He said the men were in a Japanese reconditioned Toyota Corolla (SP-0586). “They were dressed in a camouflage uniform with a police cap on their heads and black cloth wrapped around half of their faces,” he added.
The police have taken fingerprints from Mr Shah’s car and have recorded statements of both eyewitnesses.
An FIR has not been registered as yet, ASI Arif Shah added.
Court work suspended
Legal proceedings at the Sindh High Court and the subordinate judiciary remained completely suspended on Tuesday in protest against the kidnapping of the SHC chief justice’s son, also a practising lawyer of the high court.
Advocate Awais Ali Shah, eldest among the three siblings, had opened a year ago his law firm after remaining associated with a renowned law firm for five years.
Graduated from a law college in London, he is also a visiting faculty at S.M. Law College.
Sources close to the chief justice told Dawn that it was a little before Iftar on Monday when Advocate Shah’s family learnt about him going missing after they found his cellular phone switched off.
They said that it was later collected that the abducted son of the chief justice had lastly called one of his friends after 2pm after which there was no contact with him.
The incident also sent a wave of fear among many lawyers who spoke about their security concern on the condition of anonymity. “When a lawyer, who is son of the chief justice of the province, could be abducted in broad daylight in a busy business district, who else can feel safe and secure?” wondered one of them.
The SHC did not take up any case, as the lawyers announced their boycott and stayed away from the proceedings.
Same was the situation in other courts, including city courts, Malir district courts, anti-terrorism courts, accountability courts and banking courts.
The Sindh High Court Bar Association and other lawyers bodies passed unanimous resolutions against the kidnapping of the lawyer. They demanded that the government immediately recover him.
The Sindh Bar Council also condemned the incident and expressed grave concern over the lack of security. The SBC is likely to announce its future course of action at a press conference on Wednesday.
Published in Dawn, June 22nd, 2016