KARACHI: The Sindh High Court on Monday directed the
director general of Sindh Rangers, inspector general of police, home
secretary and others to file their comments on a petition seeking
whereabouts of Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan leader Shahid Pasha,
who is reported to have been “missing” for the last couple of days.
A
two-judge bench also put the federal and provincial law officers on
notice and adjourned the hearing to a date to be later fixed by the
court’s office.
The wife of the missing MQM-P leader had
moved the SHC submitting that her spouse was taken into custody by law
enforcers within the remit of the New Town police station on Dec 15 when
he was on the way home from the MQM-P head office in Bahadurabad.
The
petitioner stated that Mr Pasha was arrested along with his driver who
was later released, but her husband was still in custody.
Impleading
the Rangers DG, IGP, Sindh home secretary and the New Town SHO as
respondents, she asked the court to direct them to release her husband
forthwith.
JIT demanded to probe education standards
The MQM-P leader was arrested in the past also in a case
pertaining to MQM founder Altaf Hussain’s Aug 22, 2016 incendiary
speech. Later, he was released on bail.
JIT sought to probe dual education standards
Two civil rights campaigners have filed a constitutional
petition in the SHC against “dual standards” of education in the
province and seeking formation of joint investigation team (JIT) to
probe the matter impartially.
Petitioners Alamgir Khan of
‘Fix it’ and Atam Parkash of the Justice Helpline Trust submitted in
their joint petition that there were not enough middle and high schools
to meet the challenge of providing necessary education to children in
the province.
They said according to a survey report,
around 6,000 government schools were not functioning and, on the other
hand, more than 40,000 ghost teachers were not working due to their
political influence.
The petitioners, represented by
Advocate Nadeem Shaikh, said that it was observed that political
influence was the main factor in ruining the education system in the
province, which was very much evident with past experience when the
provincial government asked the government teachers for biometric
verification to confirm their employment but the whole procedure was
sabotaged by corrupt teachers and politicians.
They
submitted that the provincial assembly had passed the Sindh Right of
Children to Free and Compulsory Education Bill in February 2013 with the
aim to provide free-of-cost education to every child.
“Clause
3(1) of the said act clearly mentions that every child of the age of
five to 16 years regardless of sex and race shall have a fundamental
right to free and compulsory education in a school,” they added.
The
petitioners said that according to a survey conducted by the Sindh
education department, 77 per cent schools were in unsatisfactory
conditions and almost 50pc do not have basic facilities of safe drinking
water and ablution.
They maintained that the Sindh
government claimed to promote education in the province under its
“education emergency” plan but no betterment had been observed in the
education sector and the conditions had become worse.
They
said that in Pakistan the double standard of education had been
introduced, as one system prevailing throughout the country was related
to public sector and the other one was an outcome of private investors.
Impleading
chief secretary, education and finance secretaries and member of the
education sector planning and development board as respondents, the
petitioners asked the court to order constitution of a JIT consisting of
members from all investigation authorities, including the Pakistan
Army, and direct them to investigate the matter impartially and
honestly.
