KARACHI: The Sindh High Court (SHC) has directed the provincial police chief to submit the details of the cases pending against a rights activist who has been arrested by police in several criminal cases.
Arbab Bheel claimed in his petition that he had been booked in several criminal cases at the behest of politically influential persons because he is engaged in social activism, and voices concerns against injustices and human rights violations in the province.
His counsel said the activist had been falsely implicated in criminal cases by the Hyderabad police and later acquitted by the SHC, adding that he had again been arrested in a terrorism case soon after his acquittal.
He said the petitioner’s implication in criminal case on the scheduled date of his release from prison raises serious doubts about
mala fide intent and the manipulation of the process, adding that the terrorism case had been registered with an unexplained delay.
He also said the petitioner has been implicated in multiple FIRs at different police stations in Hyderabad, Qasimabad and Jamshoro, and most of them are based on old incidents and uncorroborated allegations or statements of the co-accused without independent evidence.
The counsel said the petitioner has no criminal record apart from the said cases, and his repeated implication in criminal cases after his acquittal reflects a pattern of vindictive and mala fide action aimed at harassing, humiliating and restraining him from exercising his fundamental rights.
He said the petitioner seeks protection against the registration of further cases without the permission of the court, the details of all the cases pending against
him, and a fair and impartial investigation by an honest police officer.
After the preliminary hearing of the petition, an SHC division bench headed by Justice Adnanul Karim Memon issued notices to the Sindh advocate general, the IGP and
