SHC gives last chance to Mirza to show up

The Sindh High Court on Wednesday gave last chance to the disowned leader of Pakistan Peoples Party and former home minister Zulifqar Mirza to show up before the concerned trial court by May 09. A division bench headed Chief Justice Faisal Arab extended till May 09 the protective bail of Zulifqar Mirza in four criminal cases registered against him for allegedly attacking a police station and forcing shutdown of markets in Badin district.
At the outset of the hearing, the counsel for Mirza told the judges that the Badin police besieged the farmhouse of Mirza to arrest him despite the fact that he was out on bail. The acts of the police force to arrest him constitute contempt proceedings, said the counsel while requesting the judges to proceed against them for defying its order. The court was further pleaded to extend his bail so that he could appear in the trial court.
However, Mustafa Mahesar, provincial law officer, opposed the plea of Mirza's counsel, saying he has disturbed the law and order situation of the district. He said that Mirza had created a state of panic in the district. Earlier, Ashraf Samo, submitted in the petition that on May 03, Badin police arrested a supporter of Mirza, Nadeem Mughal, a businessman, and snatched Rs 5 million in cash, a car, documents and other belongings from him. However, he was later freed when crowds of people gathered and protested against his arrest.
Subsequently, he stated, Mirza along with his supporters had gone to Model Town police station to register an FIR against the arrest, but the police officials posted there declined to entertain his plea, adding, even they refused to record a statement under section 154 of CrPC, which is a violation of the law. On the contrary, the counsel claimed that the police officers not only 'misbehaved' with Mirza and used abusive language but they registered four fabricated cases against him and his supporters under Anti-Terrorism Act.
He said that Mirza was confined to his house at Badin, fearing his arrest and subsequent death at the hands of Rao Anwar, who, he claimed, is the right hand of Pakistan People's Party Parliamentarian Co-Chairman Asif Ali Zardari and has been posted as SSP Badin to kill him in an encounter.