Karachi (January 13, 2018): Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Saqib Nisar on Saturday directed Inspector General of Sindh Police to submit affidavit in VVIP road blockades case.
Hearing a suo motu case of road blockades due to VVIP movement at the Supreme Court Karachi Registry, Justice Saqib Nisar enquired from IG Sindh A.D. Khawaja why public roads are blocked for VVIP movement.
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To this, A.D. Khawaja responded that traffic is only stopped for two minutes to facilitate VVIP movement. Roads are not blocked; instead, mere arrangements are made for VVIP movement.
The Chief Justice stated that arrangements should be made to ensure the public does not face hardship. The public faces difficulties when roads are blocked for VVIPs, he remarked.
The CJP then directed IG Sindh to submit an affidavit stating that the roads are not blocked for [longer periods of time]. He further remarked that the court would review the affidavit and ensure the public’s rights are protected.
Hearing suo motu cases regarding the state of public hospitals and admissions issues in private medical colleges in Sindh, the Chief Justice announced to set up a five-member inspection team to monitor medical colleges and hospitals.
The CJP remarked that the court is reviewing the admissions process in private medical colleges and that the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC) will not register any more medical colleges.
He further stated that forms are being sent to private medical colleges which they are required to fill and submit back to the court.
The Chief Justice also summoned affidavits from medical superintendents of public hospitals.
Whichever medical college, hospital fails to meet the standard requirements will be held responsible, the CJP observed.
Justice Saqib Nisar is also set to hear suo motu cases pertaining to the sale of substandard packaged milk and provision of unsafe drinking water today.
A three-member Supreme Court bench headed by the Chief Justice will hear the appeal of civil society activists against the Sindh High Court’s (SHC) order directing a retrial in the Shahzeb Khan murder case at the Karachi Registry today.
Members of civil society had approached the Supreme Court against the SHC ruling which set aside the death penalty for Shahrukh Jatoi and others convicted for the 2012 murder of Shahzeb and ordered their retrial by a sessions court.
Ten civil society activists – including Jibran Nasir, Jamshed Raza Mahmood, Afiya Shehrbano Zia, Naeem Sadiq, Nazim Fida Hussain Haji, Zulfiqar Shah, Aquila Ismail, Fahim Zaman Khan, and Naziha Syed Ali – had filed a criminal petition in the Supreme Court’s Karachi Registry challenging the SHC’s November 28, 2017 ruling which stated that the murder case does not fall within the jurisdiction of the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997.
In their petition, the civil society members stated that they have the legal standing to file the petition for leave to appeal as they are citizens of Karachi and reside in the same locality – Defence Housing Authority – where the murder took place.
They stated in the petition that the incident was not just of an individual nature, but carried serious repercussions for the society at large.
On December 23, 2017, Jatoi, the son of an influential feudal, and other defendants in the Shahzeb Khan murder case, were released from custody on bail after Shahzeb’s father submitted an affidavit in support of the defendant’s bail application.
Shahzeb was gunned down by Jatoi in a posh locality of Karachi on December 25, 2012.
An ATC in 2013 had awarded death sentences to Jatoi and Siraj Talpur for the murder of Shahzeb, while life sentences were awarded to Sajjad Ali Talpur and Ghulam Murtaza Lashari.
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