Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) Urgent Appeal No. UA-293-2007
MQM Terrorists Attacked, Beat and Injured Sindh High Court Judge Mr.
Justice Muhammad Ather Saeed
MQM Gangsters Attacked and Damaged the Cars of Sindh High Court
Judges: Mr. Chief Justice Sabihuddin Ahmed, Mr. Justice Azizullah M.
Memon, Mr. Justice Maqbool Baqar, Mrs. Justice Yasmin Abbasi, Mr.
Justice Muhammad Ather Saeed and Mr. Justice Sajjad Ali Shah
Threats to independence of judges and lawyers - No legal protection -
MQM Pressurizing judicial system - No rule of law in Pakistan
http://www.ahrchk.net/ua/mainfile.php/2006/2610
http://www.ahrchk.net/ua/support.php?ua=UA-293-2007
http://www.ahrchk.net/statements/mainfile.php/2007statements/1232
http://groups.google.com/group/reportpress/t/4ad332d95ff968ac
By Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRChk.net)
Dear Friends:
HONG KONG, China (ReportPress.com) - The Asian Human Rights Commission
(AHRC) has received information from reliable sources that several
judges including [Mr. Sabihuddin Ahmed], the Chief Justice of the
Sindh High Court [SHC], were threatened by [Muttahida Qaumi Movement
(MQM)], a ruling political party in General [Pervez] Musharraf’s
[Terrorist] Government on accepting the bail applications of several
[illegally] arrested lawyers on 29 September 2007. There were a
variety of threats but [Arbab Ghulam Rahim], the Chief Minister of the
[Sindh] province [of Pakistan], condoned the actions of the [MQM]
ruling party, arguing that the writing against the Chief Justice is
the “peoples’ voice”. It is alleged that the [MQM] workers and
leadership of the [MQM] ruling party are involved in the mayhem of May
12, 2007, the killings of two lawyers in recent days and threats to
office-bearers of different bar associations, including attacks on the
cars of sitting judges [of SHC].
CASE DETAILS:
According to the information received, one ruling party of the Sindh
province, the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) has threatened Mr.
Justice Sabihuddin Ahmed, the Chief Justice of Sindh High Court, on
taking cases of members and office-bearers of various bar
associations. Mr. Justice Sabihuddin Ahmed has granted bail to the
four arrested lawyers, including Mr. Salah-ud-Din [Khan] Gandapur,
executive member of the Sindh Bar Council, who had held the protest
meeting and rally on September 29 [2007]. This was held in support of
injured lawyers and journalists who were severely beaten by police in
Islamabad, the capital city of Pakistan, on the occasion of the filing
of papers of General Musharraf on September 27, 2007. These
[unlawfully] arrested lawyers were booked in bailable offences like,
under Sections 107, 117, 142, 382 of the Pakistan Penal Code. After
the [illegal] arrests, they were produced before the First Class
Magistrate 1, South, Karachi, who refused to grant them bail. The
lawyers of the accused persons then went to the house of Mr.
Sabihuddin Ahmed, Chief Justice, Sindh High Court, in the evening as
it was a Saturday and the following day (Sunday) the courts would be
closed, to get the bails of four lawyers. (According to judicial
traditions in Pakistan, any judge can take the bail applications on
the official holidays on urgent matters.) After receiving bail
applications, the Chief Justice asked for a comment from [Mr. Anwar
Mansoor Khan], the ex-Advocate General of [Sindh] province, on the
telephone who also agreed that bail of the accused could not be
refused on the charges which are framed against them.
This legal action of [Mr. Sabihuddin Ahmed], the [SHC] Chief Justice,
infuriated the ruling party, the MQM. He was then threatened on the
telephone, after which party workers of the MQM started a smear
campaign against the [SHC] Chief Justice by hoisting banners and using
chalk to write all around the walls of the [Sindh] High Court building
accusing him of taking bribes from the “criminal lawyers” for bails at
his resident. When asked by the journalists on the smear campaign
against the [SHC] Chief Justice, [Arbab Ghulam Rahim], the Chief
Minister of the [Sindh] province, said whilst supporting the campaign
that “this is the voice of the people and he has to face it”. On
these remarks, Registrar, Sindh High Court, issued a Contempt of Court
notice to the [Sindh] Chief Minister and [the SHC Chief Justice]
formed a five-member bench to hear the Contempt of Court
proceedings.
The lawyers are alleging that judges of the highest court of the
[Sindh] province have been threatened by reminders of the cold-blooded
murders of two prominent lawyers, Mr. Raja [Mohammad] Riaz and Mr.
Atique [Ahmed] Qadri. [Advocate] Mr. Raja Riaz was murdered when the
workers of the MQM attacked Sindh High Court building on September 10,
2007 and [Advocate] Mr. Atique Qadri was murdered on September 16
[2007], when he addressed and participated in a protest meeting on the
murder of Raja Riaz. After these incidents of murder, it is alleged
that the [MQM] workers of the [MQM] ruling party are intimidating the
offices of different bar associations by threatening to injure or kill
their family members.
The Chief Justice of the Sindh High Court [Mr. Sabihuddin Ahmed] was
also threatened on May 12, 2007, when the Chief Justice of Pakistan
[Supreme Court, Mr. Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry] was stopped by the
[MQM-PMLQ] Sindh provincial government and by the MQM party leadership
from entering the [Karachi] city. During the day, [MQM] armed groups
took over control of the city and killed more than 50 people. After
this, the MQM held a meeting of its workers in the evening and its
leadership including [MQM] party Chief Altaf Hussain, who threatened
Chief Justice of Sindh for not blockading the roads to prevent the
arrival of Mr. Iftikhar Chaudhry, the then [illegally] suspended Chief
Justice of Pakistan.
According to media reports, on May 12, 2007, the party workers of MQM
attacked the cars of judges of the [Sindh] High Court. Furthermore,
they detained them in the Court building by placing heavy containers
around the building and prevented the judges from leaving the Court
building before 7 O’clock in the evening. In the morning, when [Mr.
Sabihuddin Ahmed], the Chief Justice of the [Sindh] High Court
entered, his car was beaten with sticks by the MQM workers. The cars
of the other [SHC] judges were also damaged, including those of Mr.
Justice Azizullah M. Memon, Mr. Justice Maqbool Baqar, Mrs. Justice
Yasmin Abbasi, Mr. Justice Muhammad Ather Saeed and Mr. Justice Sajjad
Ali Shah. Their staff have lodged complaints before the Registrar of
the [Sindh] High Court. Mr. Justice Muhammad Ather Saeed was also
injured in the attack [by MQM].
Chief Justice of Sindh High Court, Mr. Justice Sabihuddin Ahmed, then
constituted a large bench of [Sindh] High Court judges to probe the
incidents of the May 12 [2007] killings; additionally, to investigate
why Chief Justice of Pakistan [Mr. Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry] was not
allowed to enter the [Karachi] city after clear instructions of the
[Sindh] High Court to allow him to enter the city. The MQM was against
this action of the Sindh Chief Justice and started abusing the
judiciary in the [MQM] meetings. The ministers of the MQM were not
following the instructions of the Court and were not attending the
Court proceedings after several notices. On September 10, 2007, some
2000 workers of the MQM attacked the Sindh High Court building and
stopped the proceedings of the [SHC] large bench, which was hearing
the evidences of the May 12 [2007] killings.
SUGGESTED ACTION:
Please write to following authorities, demanding to provide official
protection to the highest legal officer of the Sindh province and to
arrest [all] the perpetrators who are continuously threatening [Mr.
Sabihuddin Ahmed], the Chief Justice of Sindh, and other judges of the
High Court of [Pakistan’s] province of Sindh. - [11 October 2007].
To support this [AHRC] appeal, please click [the two AHRChk.net Web
links] here:
http://www.ahrchk.net/ua/mainfile.php/2006/2610
http://www.ahrchk.net/ua/support.php?ua=UA-293-2007
(1) MQM-PMLQ Regimes of Sindh Committed Heinous Crimes Against Judges
and Lawyers
http://groups.google.com/group/reportpress/t/4ad332d95ff968ac
http://www.ahrchk.net/statements/mainfile.php/2007statements/1232
SHC: http://www.sindhhighcourt.gov.pk
SBC: http://www.sindhbarcouncil.com
SHCBA: http://www.sindhhighcourtbar.org
SCP: http://www.supremecourt.gov.pk
(2) All Eyes on the Supreme Court of Pakistan
By Advocate Dr. FAROOQ HASSAN
http://www.nation.com.pk/daily/oct-2007/14/columns3.php
(3) Blog of Advocate AMJAD MALIK
http://www.etribes.com/amsolicitors
http://www.etribes.com/overview/42014
http://adeebmedia.wordpress.com/2007/05/24/amjad-malik
(4) India’s Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) Arrests Corrupt
Billionaire Major General (Ordinance) Anand Kumar Kapoor of the Indian
Army for Corruption
http://www.bbc.co.uk/urdu/india/story/2007/10/071014_delhi_dairy.shtml
(5) Petitions Against MQM Terrorism, Crimes and Barbarism
– http://www.petitiononline.com/trimafia
– http://www.petitiononline.com/altaf
– http://www.petitiononline.com/mqmterro/petition.html
– http://www.petitiononline.com/doabit/petition.html
– http://www.petitiononline.com/12may/petition.html
– http://www.petitiononline.com/mushbush/petition.html
http://www.teeth.com.pk/blog/2007/05/30/salman-ahmed-speaks-out-against-mqm
– DW: http://www.DictatorshipWatch.com
– PTI Forum: http://www.moveforjustice.org
– PTI Lahore: http://www.ptilahore.org
– PTI: http://www.insaf.org.pk
– LPP: http://www.laborpakistan.org
– ANP: http://www.anp.org.pk
– PML-N: http://www.pmlusa.org
– JIP: http://www.jamaat.org
– AHRC: http://pakistan.ahrchk.net
– http://pakistan.ahrchk.net/chiefjustice/index.php
– http://www.ahrchk.net
– ICSSA: http://www.icssa.org
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