Court siege case: SHC indicts IGP, top officers for contempt

KARACHI: The Sindh high Court (SHC) on Tuesday indicted Sindh Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Ghulam Hyder Jamali and other top police officers for contempt of court in a case pertaining to police laying siege to court buildings earlier this year.

Charges were framed under Article 204 against IGP Jamali, Additional IG Ghulam Qadir Thebo, DIG South Dr Jameel Ahmed, DIG West Feroz Shah, SSP Captain Mohammad Asad Chaudhry, and SP City Fida Hussain.

Contempt proceeding were initiated against the IGP and other officers on petitions filed by former Sindh home minister Zulfiqar Mirza against police denying him access to an anti-terrorism court and laying siege to court buildings to arrest him and his supporters as well as manhandling media personnel on May 23.

Last month, the court had rejected the apologies of Inspector General of Police Ghulam Hyder Jamali, then-Karachi police chief and other police officers, and observed that the alleged contemnors “shall be proceeded against in accordance with the law”.

The court had taken notice of the police operation, and observed that act on the part of the police surrounding the High Court as well as the adjacent anti-terrorism court appeared to be an attempt not only to obstruct the course of justice but also to lower the process and dignity of the court.