The Supreme Court (SC) has ordered arrest of ex-provincial minister Mir Faiq Jamali who did not comply with the court orders to appear before the Apex Court on Wednesday December 6, 2006.
A three-member bench of the Supreme Court (SC) headed by the Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry directed Inspector General Police Balochistan to arrest Mir Faiq Jamali and produce him personally on the 21st of this month.
Mir Faiq and three other former ministers of Balochistan, namely Bahram Khan Achakzai, Sardar Abdul Hafeez Loni and Sardar Nisar Ali Hazara were convicted by an Accountability Court under the NAB Ordinance on various charges of corruption etc and sentenced them to various terms of imprisonment and fines amounting to millions of rupees.
The government of Balochistan released these convicts on parole a year ago on the assurance that they would pay the fines and other dues. The Apex Court took notice on an application of one Nayyar Iqbal who alleged that influential convicts were released on parole but this relief was not given to his brother Ishfaq Khalid, also convicted by the Accountability Court.
The court summoned the four ex-ministers and issued notices to the Federal and the provincial governments to inform the court under which law, and on what terms, the four convicted ministers were release on parole.
Except for Mir Faiq, three other former ministers appeared before the court on Friday, December 1 and requested the court to give them time for engaging their lawyers.
The court fixed the case for Wednesday December 6 but Mir Faiq again failed to turn up though an advocate appeared on his behalf. Additional Advocate General Balochistan Malik Sultan Mahmood submitted that despite notices the ex-ministers have not paid fines and other dues.
The Home Secretary has now sent a summary to the Chief Minister for cancellation of their release on parole. The court observed that the NAB Ordinance does not allow such convicts to be released on parole without payment of their dues and such parole releases of the influential convicts circumvents and defeats the judicial system, process and law of the land.