KARACHI: The Sindh High Court has issued notices to the provincial home secretary, Karachi commissioner, Sindh police chief, and Karachi central prison’s superintendent against extension of the detention period of Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM)’s London leader under Maintenance of Public Order. A division bench headed by Justice Naimatullah Phulpoto issued the notices to the respondent authorities to file their respective comments by Dec 07. MQM London’s member Dr Hassan Zafar Arif was detained along with other leaders for 30 days under the MPO order issued on October 22. Before the completion of his detention period on November 22, the home secretary on the recommendation of the law enforcement agencies issued a fresh order on November 17, extending his detention for another 30 days. The DIG South had written to the commissioner Karachi that Dr Hassan is an active member of MQM London and there is increased tension between MQM Pakistan and London. “His release at this juncture would fuel tensions causing disruption of public peace.” Subsequently, the commissioner forwarded his recommendation to the home secretary for appropriate orders. Nicholas Sauvain, the detainee’s son, petitioned the high court pleading it to set the fresh order aside regarding the detention of his father for another 30 days and to order his release. In the petition, he alleged that the provincial authorities had misused the law and had extended the detention of his aged father for another 30 days to please their political bosses. His father was being treated unfairly, he added. He recalled that the Rangers personnel had arrested his father along with other MQM leaders from outside Karachi Press Club on October 21, 2016 as they were going to address a press conference. The petitioner said that the detention order was illegal and unconstitutional as the fundamental rights of his father have been curtailed. “The law enforcement agencies are bound to treat every citizen equally but they are overriding certain provisions of the Constitution which guarantees protection of lives of all citizens, freedom of speech and freedom of movement.” He, therefore, pleaded the court to declare the detention of the petitioner’s father as illegal and order his release. The same bench also directed the Rangers director general and the provincial authorities to file their comments on a petition of the spouse of MQM London’s leader Saathe Ishaque against alleged harassment at the hands of the law enforcement agencies. The hearing was adjourned till December 20. Petitioner Shabana Ishaque had submitted that the paramilitary troopers were unconstitutionally persecuting her and other family members to elicit information about the whereabouts of her husband, Saathi Ishaque. She said she was feeling great apprehension about his safety as his whereabouts were unknown to her. She told the judges that On October 22, 2016, she and her husband were busy in routine work at their office when they received a phone call from her son back home, informing them about the raid carried out by the Rangers personnel. She said the Rangers personal misbehaved with her son and daughter and they were kept under illegal detention for an hour in an attempt to seek the whereabouts of their father. The woman petitioner argued that the Rangers raid was unethical , professional misconduct and flagrant violation of the Constitution. She said the Rangers personnel were present in the vicinity of her house, doing snap checking to nab her husband. The court was requested to declare that the law enforcement agencies cannot act beyond their official power and capacity to blatantly violate the rights of the petitioner’s husband. It was further requested to restrain the law enforcers from harassing the petitioner and other family members.