KARACHI: Police on Friday told the Sindh High Court that the number of absconders in the province was 57,000 and over 22,000 of them were in Karachi alone.

A superintendent of police filed a report in this regard before a single bench headed by Justice Salahuddin Panhwar.

Last month, the bench had directed the police to submit the details of absconding accused on a petition filed by Ms Nooran against the SSP West and others seeking arrest of the accused involved in the murder case of her son.

The number of absconders in Karachi alone is 22,171

The police report said that there were a total of 57,224 absconders in the province. Of them, 22,171 accused persons were at large in Karachi and 35,053 in remaining five divisions of the province.

The cases of 1,347 absconders are pending before the antiterrorism courts of Karachi, it added.

Similarly, the cases of 7,044 absconding accused are pending trial before the ATCs of Hyderabad, Sukkur, Larkana, Mirpurkhas and Shaheed Benazirabad and 28,009 before other courts of five divisions.

The report further stated that requests had been made to the assistant inspector general (legal-II) of police to approach the Federal Investigation Agency to make efforts for the placement of the names of absconders on the Exit Control List.

The AIG was also asked to request the director general of National Database and Registration Authority (Nadra) to block the computerised national identity cards (CNICs) of the absconders in compliance with the orders of the SHC, it added.

The bench directed the police to make serious efforts for the arrest of absconders.

Interim bail of former PPP minister extended

The National Accountability Bureau on Friday submitted a reply before the SHC in a matter pertaining to an inquiry against former federal minister Aijaz Hussain Jakhrani.

On the last hearing, the SHC had granted interim pre-arrest bail to the former Pakistan Peoples Party minister and asked NAB to file a reply.

The bureau submitted that NAB-Rawalpindi had been holding an inquiry against many persons, including the applicant, in the fake bank accounts case and a scam regarding purchase of vehicles and payment of import duties through fake bank accounts.

It maintained that NAB-Rawalpindi was conducting the inquiry on the directive of the Supreme Court and if cognizable offence was made out, then a reference would be filed before the accountability court at Islamabad. Therefore, the SHC lacked jurisdiction to entertain the application of Jakhrani, it stated.

NAB argued that relevant documents were collected from the Customs department and motor registration authority in Karachi pertaining to the clearance and registration of an armoured vehicle in the name of the former minister and upon the confirmation of ownership, the applicant was called to explain the sources being utilised for the acquisition of such a vehicle.

A division bench of the SHC extended the interim bail of the PPP leader till May 3 and asked NAB to file a progress report in the next hearing.

Published in Dawn, April 6th, 2019