GOVERNMENT ONCE AGAIN FAILED TO PRODUCE DR FAROOQ SATTAR IN COURT TODAY

London – 29 December 1999

Today, the Government once again failed to produce Dr Farooq Sattar at the Sindh High Court. According to details, today on 29 December 1999, the Sindh High Court had fixed the hearing on the habeas corpus constitutional petition filed by Mr Abdul Sattar Peerani, father of Dr Farooq Sattar. On the first day of hearing on 27 December 1999, the government failed to produce Dr Farooq Sattar, therefore, the court ordered the representatives of the Sindh Government to inform the court of the whereabouts of Dr Farooq Sattar and fixed 29 December 1999 as the date for second hearing on the constitutional petition filed by Mr Abdul Sattar Peerani. The hearing began at around 10.10 am Pakistan time, the Deputy Attorney General appeared on behalf of the Government of Sindh whereas Mr Aftab Ahmed Sheikh Advocate, Mr K M Nadeem Advocate and Mr Iqbal Quadri Advocate represented Mr Abdul Sattar Peerani. During the hearing, the Deputy Attorney General once again failed to produce Dr Farooq Sattar and was unable to inform the court of the whereabouts of Dr Farooq Sattar. The hearing was adjourned until 31 December 1999.

It should be recalled that in November 1999, the local administration and the law enforcement personnel raided the house of Dr Farooq Sattar to arrest him. During this raid, his house was ransacked and his personal assistant was severely tortured and arrested. On 26 November 1999, Dr Farooq Sattar presented himself for voluntary arrest at the Karachi Press Club. Since then, he is being kept in unlawful and illegal detention and until now, he has not been produced in any court of Pakistan. On 27 December 1999, the Sindh High Court had ordered the Government to produce Dr Farooq Sattar in reply to a habeas corpus petition. Despite the strict orders of the court, the Government failed to produce Dr Farooq Sattar.

More than a month has passed since the arrest of Dr Farooq Sattar and the Government has not produced him before any courts and he is being held in incommunicado and unlawful detention. The unlawful and unconstitutional detention of Dr Farooq Sattar is tantamount to the denial of his fundamental and constitutional rights. Furthermore, non-production of Dr Farooq Sattar at the Sindh High Court for the second time within two days is a total disregard to the judicial system and is the slaying of judiciary.

Dr Farooq Sattar is the Member of MQM Central Co-ordination Committee, the Parliamentary Leader of the MQM in the suspended Provincial Assembly of Sindh and the former Mayor of Karachi.