The great escape

KARACHI: An officer of the civil services Shahid Hamid Malik, who held the post of home secretary Sindh during the early 1990s, was questioned by some journalists after a press conference in August 1991, with regard to the special treatment meted out to some undertrial prisoners (UTPs) like Benazir Bhutto, Asif Zardari and leaders of the MQM staying back in court premises even after the hearing. Malik shockingly replied that instructions from the high-ups were to remain ‘not to too strict’ with regard to the high-profile UTPs.

In the past, letting UTPs breathe free for extended hours after attending court was a privilege that was accorded only to high-profile persons. However, with the passage of time, other UTPs have also learnt to ‘buy’ the privilege from the court staff and the police.

The apparent ‘privileges’ enjoyed by certain UTPs came to light recently when Zohaib Qureshi, who is being tried by a sessions court for allegedly kidnapping Dua Mangi in November 2019, managed to escape.

Qureshi was brought to the court for hearing, and after the legal procedures while on the way back to prison, the police personnel facilitated Qureshi to shop at a mall located on Tariq Road from where the accused fled.

A former IG prisons Sindh, on condition of anonymity, said that besides bribery there are various other reasons that leads to prisoners’ ‘privileges’. The reasons, according to the former policeman, range from money to political and religious influence on the court staff as well as the police.

Lawyer Mohammad Zaighum said that the trial judges normally adjourn proceedings without giving a specific date which is fixed by the court readers keeping in view the number of cases fixed for a particular date and the schedule of state, defence and complainant’s lawyers. The production order for a UTP for the next court appearance is prepared and signed by the court staff and then handed over to the court police official who has brought the UTP for hearing. This, according to Zaighum, gives the court’s staff some room for manipulation.

“The … UTPs who do not bribe or have no political backing, are immediately handcuffed and their movements are restricted even when they have to wait for the other UTPs whose production orders are deliberately delayed by the court staff”, apprised Zaighum.

Political inductees

According to the former IG prisons, like any other government departments the paralegal branch of the lower judiciary in the province is politicized, because such staff, though may have the requisite qualification, is often appointed on political recommendations.

“When the UTPs having political affiliations are brought to the court, the paralegal staff appointed on political recommendations favour them by not only deliberately delaying the preparation of their production orders but by giving them short dates as well so they can frequently be brought to the court to meet their families”, he said.

Zaighum said that not only the UTPs are allowed by the court police to move freely within the court premises after the hearing, they are even allowed to go outside the legal jurisdictions if they bribe the court staff and the police.  He claimed that all the quarters concerned are aware that such a practice is common in the province’s district judicial system, and even the media seldom reports it.

According to Zaighum, had the media not reported the incident, Qureshi would have spent some days at home as well before going back to prison.

Following the incident, the Sindh chief minister ordered suspension of the SSP Courts, Azam Durrani and also directed registration of a case against the police officials who were at escort duty.

According to the first information report (FIR) of the incident, Qureshi and the police personnel accompanying him made a stopover at a mall where the accused “wanted to shop”. In this regard, the Ferozabad police has registered a case against the court police Constable Habib Zafar and Head Constable Mohammed Naveed for their alleged negligence of duty that led to Qureshi’s escape. Qureshi has also been nominated in the FIR.

In the CCTV footage of the mall, a man identified as Qureshi can be seen roaming around the mall’s exit for a few seconds before leaving with shopping bags in hand. He was seen wearing a jacket over a blue shalwar kameez besides donning a cap as well.