Sindh High Court (SHC) on Thursday sought comments from Home Secretary, Inspector General of Police (IGP) Sindh, Director General Rangers and others in response to a petition challenging the 30-day detention of Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) London leader Kunwar Khalid Younus who is under Maintenance of Public Order. The SHC bench, headed by Justice Naimatullah Phulpoto, was hearing the petition filed by Naz Khalid Kunwar, the wife of MQM leader Kunwar Khalid Younus, who moved the court seeking release of her spouse.
The petitioner submitted that the Rangers personnel had arrested her spouse along with other MQM leaders outside Karachi Press Club on October 21, 2016 as they were going to address a press conference. Later, she said, she came to know through the media that her spouse was detained with other leaders under MPO.
She informed the court that her husband was a senior citizen and suffering from various diseases, adding that family members were not being allowed to see him in prison. The wife of detained MQM leader submitted that there were no criminal charges against Kunwar Khalid, apprehending that her spouse would be implicated in fictitious criminal cases.
The petitioner's counsel argued that the detention order was illegal and unconstitutional and against the principle of natural justice. She requested the court to declare the detention of her husband as illegal and order his release. The court was further requested to direct the jail authorities to allow relatives of detainee to meet him in prison as per jail manual. The bench issued notices to IG police, DG Rangers, Home Secretary and others, directing them to submit their respective replies in the next hearing scheduled for November 9. It also directed the petitioner's counsel to present the copy of the detention order.