KARACHI, Dec 13: The interior ministry is trying to ascertain the whereabouts of Al Qaeda operative Khalid Mohammad Shaikh, a federal attorney informed the Sindh High Court on Tuesday.

Federal government standing counsel Mahmood Alam Rizvi told a division bench, comprising Justices Ghulam Rabbani and Munib Ahmed Khan, that he received a message from the ministry in response to the queries made by him on the court direction.

Petitioner Mariam submitted through Advocate Ghulam Qadir Jatoi that her brother, Khalid Mohammad Shaikh, was arrested from Rawalpindi in February 2003 and nothing had been heard about him since. According to press reports, he was picked up and was being kept in confinement by federal agencies, yet the court had not been informed about his unlawful detention.

The petitioner said the detainee had not been produced before any magistrate. She alleged that her husband and two other relatives were also under detention. Nothing was known about Abdul Basit alias Ramzi Yousuf, her son-in-law, who was reportedly sent to America in 1995.

The bench adjourned the proceedings to Dec 21 after Advocate Rizvi’s statement.

Another petition alleging the detention of Affan Leghari was adjourned by the bench to Dec 20. Advocate Rizvi said he had received no information from the interior ministry and needed more time to seek instructions.

Petitioner Zahida Leghari alleged that her son Affan was arrested from his residence in Gulzar-i-Hijri in October by a federal agency personnel and was being detained without lawful authority.

BAIL REFUSED: The bench dismissed a bail application moved by actor Farooq Mengal, who is standing trial for his wife Afreen Baig’s murder. Afreen Baig was tortured to death by the couple’s driver Mohammad Bakhsh and his wife, Zahida. They decamped with jewellery and encashed a cheque for Rs 280,000 extorted from their victim. The driver later said in his confessional statement that the murder was masterminded by Mengal.

Representing the applicant, Advocate Azizullah Shaikh said there was no case against the accused and he had been implicated only in a confessional statement allegedly made by his servant.

Opposing the bail plea, special prosecutor Iqtidar Ali Hashmi and the complainant’s counsel, M. Ilyas Khan, said the case being tried and evidence was being recorded by the trial court, which has dismissed the accused’s bail plea. The bench agreed that the concession could not be allowed at this stage.