Jailed mayor turns to SHC CJ for early disposal of bail pleas

Karachi

The incarcerated mayor of Karachi, Waseem Akhtar, has sent a letter to the chief justice of the Sindh High Court, requesting him to pass orders for expeditious disposal of his bail applications pending decisions at the high court and trial courts.

Judicial sources told The News that the chief justice of Pakistan and other senior judges of the Supreme Court and the high court had visited the Central Jail Karachi, where they had listened to the grievances of inmates, including Akhtar. 

Akhtar, who a senior leader of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan, has been incarcerated as he stands trial in several cases of terrorism, including charges he harboured terrorists and provided them medical treatment.

In his letter addressed to Sindh High Court Chief Justice Sajjad Ali Shah, he said he had been under trial in the prison since July 19.

He said 20 first information reports were registered against him in just one day on July 15, and to date about 39 cases had been lodged against him, 35 of which had been lodged in Malir where he neither lived nor had any business.

Akhtar claimed that all the cases instituted against him were fake as the name of the applicant was not mentioned in the FIRs, nor was role assigned, or recovery made or investigation conducted.

He mentioned that in almost all the 39 FIRs the same sections of law were applied, and since he was not a wealthy person he could not provide surety bonds in each case, which “are obviously politically motivated”.

The letter said that the applicant, who was elected mayor of Karachi and had taken the oath of office in the presence of all dignitaries of the city in a televised event, “is in prison for no fault or crime for the last 48 days”. 

During his bail, he left the country and returned thrice with the permission of the court, Akhtar said, adding that he was languishing in prison and was not able to serve Karachi, which was in dire straits for lack of an elected local body structure. 

He requested the SHC chief justice to pass an administrative order for expeditious disposal of his bail pleas and restraint the authorities from registering further cases without intimating the court. Akhtar was in jail on August 24 when he was elected Karachi’s mayor by securing 190 votes out of the 295 ballots cast in the 308-vote Karachi Metropolitan Corporation.

Speaking to media after becoming mayor, he had said, “I am not the MQM’s mayor, but the mayor of Karachi.”  He said that he did not want to discuss the grievances of the past and just wanted to move forward for the betterment of the citizens.

He also called for taking all political parties on board for the development of the city.

He requested Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah to give adequate powers to the municipal representatives and also guide them.