Uzair Baloch, Baldia factory fire JIT reports submitted to SHC

KARACHI: The advocate general Sindh on Saturday presented before the Sindh High Court (SHC) reports compiled by joint investigation teams (JITs) on the alleged crimes of Lyari gang war kingpin Uzair Baloch and the Baldia factory fire incident for perusal of the court in camera.

The court was hearing a petition filed by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Syed Ali Haider Zaidi who had sought the disclosure of JIT reports compiled after investigations were made into the Baldia factory fire incident and the activities of Uzair and former chairman of Fishermen’s Cooperative Society Dr Nisar Morai. During an earlier hearing, a division bench of the SHC, headed by Justice Mohammad Iqbal Kalhoro, had ordered the advocate general to submit the JIT reports on Uzair and the Baldia factory fire case in camera for perusal of the court. As the advocate general complied with the order on Saturday, the bench observed that the decision for making the JIT reports public would be taken after perusal of the reports and adjourned the hearing till March 9.

The court had earlier been informed that there were only two JIT reports which had been produced before trial courts by the investigation in sealed condition. The reports pertained to Uzair and a suspect in the Baldia factory fire case, Abdul Rehman, alias Bhola. Regarding the JIT report of Morai, the SHC was informed that the report, which was to be compiled by former Malir SSP Rao Anwar, had not been found in the police file as well as judicial record.

The petitioner, who is now a federal minister, had submitted in the petition that startling disclosures were made in the JIT reports regarding involvement of politicians in serious crimes such as killings and extortion. Zaidi maintained that when the authorities concerned were approached to obtain copies of the reports to make them public, it was of no avail. Uzair, who is currently being tried by a military court over charges of espionage for Iranian intelligence agencies, had confessed to his association with Pakistan Peoples Party’s central leadership, including its women’s wing leader Faryal Talpur, Zaidi claimed.

The PTI leader added that Uzair had admitted to paying extortion money received from various department to Faryal. Besides, he also confessed killing several people on the directives of the political party’s leadership as well as facilitating them in usurping private lands and properties by forcing their owners to vacate them. Invoking the Article 19-A of the constitution, Zaidi asserted in his petition that the provincial and federal governments’ failure to publish such JIT reports was a violation of the citizens’ right to information. He further maintained that the content of JIT reports was of public importance as it related to crimes that had wide reaching implications for the public. The SHC was requested to publish and provide official copies of the reports prepared by the JITs in the said cases.

Traders killing case:

The SHC also remanded back a traders killing case to an anti-terrorism court (ATC) with a direction to re-record the statement of accused by putting every evidence of the case to them for explanation. Four police personnel were accused of killing four traders hailing from Balochistan and terming the incident a shoot-out. Later the ATC sentenced the suspects, Zafar Ali, Noor Mohammad Shah, Zahoor Khan and Zaheer Mirza, former policemen of the Anti-Car Lifting Cell, to death for murdering the four Dubai-based traders in an alleged encounter on December 31, 2008 on Khalid Bin Walid Road.

The victims were identified as Haji Mohammad Tahir Achakzai, Obaidullah Khan Tareen, Mohammad Ibrahim Achakzai, and Zainuddin Khan Achakzai, who hailed from Chaman and had come to Karachi from Dubai when they were killed.

Police had registered a murder case under sections 302 and 34 of the Pakistan Penal Code against the ACLC team on the complaint of Haji Lala Khan, the father of one of the four victims, Zainuddin, on directions of the Supreme Court that had taken suo motu notice over the killings.

An SHC’s division bench headed by Justice Naimatullah Phulpoto observed that the trial court had erred in its judgment by relying on evidence which was not put to appellants during the course of recording their statement as per the Section 342 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC).

The SHC observed that it had been settled that every piece of incriminating evidence which was used against the accused must be put to them for explanation in their statement recorded under the Section 342 of the CrPC. The court directed the ATC to again record statements of the accused under the Section 342 of the CrPC by placing all evidence against them and pass a new judgment within three months.