The Sindh High Court (SHC) on Tuesday reserved its verdict on a petition accusing officials of the Special Investigation Unit (SIU) of kidnapping a Karachi citizen and demanding ransom.
The case is related to a recent incident of custodial abuse by the SIU. At least seven SIU officers were suspended after Irfan reportedly died from torture while in custody. Public protests, including roadblocks outside the Edhi mortuary, highlighted widespread concern about the unit’s practices.
The petition, filed by Mushtaq Ali Shah, alleged that SIU personnel kidnapped him and detained him in a private torture cell at the SIU Centre. Shah sought an inquiry into the incident and asked the court to direct the Sindh Inspector General (IG) to investigate as well as obtain details from the provincial Home Department on the legal basis of the formation of the SIU.
Read: Seven Karachi police officers suspended after death of youth in SIU custody
During Tuesday’s proceedings, Additional Inspector General (AIG) of Special Branch Zulfiqar Larik, Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of Criminal Investigation Agency (CIA) Muqaddas Haider and Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) of Anti Violent Crime Cell (AVCC) Amjad Sheikh appeared before the court.
The court questioned the legal status of the SIU and asked: “Under what law was the SIU formed? Was this unit created for torture?”
Replying to the question, Additional IG Larik said the SIU had been established under Section 8 of the Police Order 2002.
The court noted that it had previously requested reports on arrest memoranda, detention procedures and compliance with guidelines for medical examinations every 48 hours. “There are clear laws on detention, were they followed?” the court asked.
The lawyer for the detained SIU officials, Advocate Amir Mansoor Qureshi, argued that the victim had died of a heart attack and that the SHC had no jurisdiction to hear the matter.
At this, the court warned: “Please do not try to dictate to the court. There are rulings directing the IG of Sindh to ensure that there are no torture cells.”
Larik said departmental investigations are routinely carried out in accordance with the law. Qureshi, however, commented that “no other court has issued as many orders against police officers as this one,” prompting the court to clarify that it had “nothing personal against anyone.”
Read more: Seven SIU officials suspended for the death of a citizen due to ‘torture’ in custody
Qureshi further claimed that the medico-legal officer (MLO) had confirmed that there were no signs of torture on the body of the deceased.
The court then asked: “Do you support custodial torture?”
Larik responded that the case had already been transferred to the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) for investigation.
“In my view, the SIU should be completely dissolved,” the judge commented during the proceedings.
However, lawyer Qureshi warned that disbanding the unit could revive extortion targeting traders.
After hearing all parties, the SHC reserved its verdict.
